The Return
by Metamorcy
Summary: AU Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn’t helping. GinHitsu, IchiHichi
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Return**

**By: Metamorcy**

**Rating**: T

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo (later in the story), Grimmjow x Ulquiorra (later too). The last two pairings will show up as it processes, sorry.

**Disclaimer**: don't own Bleach

This is an Ichimaru x Hitsugaya fanfic. It's the first time I'm trying this pairing out. There with be 13 chapters in all or maybe more.

I'm a slow typer so it could take a while for me to update but I shall ever abandon a story (unless of course I don't like it or must). Title may change at sudden occurrences when I think up of a better name.

Oops, almost forgot, this is an AU, so yeah.

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Chapter 1

Hitsugaya hated this place, this empty dark square room. It was a prison, surrounded by thick stone walls that prevented him escaping or doing anything. There was no light, no window to the outside world only the iron door that was in front of him with a tiny peep hole and a barred little door below to toss in plates of food. He despised this place intensely. It was obscurity here, very sinister and lonely. He curled up, squeezing his fingers tightly, head between his legs, burying into the warmth of his flesh. The clothes he had been forced to wear were thin and dirty, not enough to keep his heat safe. Screams came from the other side of the door, people being dragged down the hallways for questioning and testing. It was always like that along with the numerous footsteps that followed with the heavy loads. The asylum was run by a mad scientist named Mayuri Kurotshuchi and his daughter, Nemu, Mayuri was truly a mad man who loved to do anything in the name of science even if it went against the law like injecting drugs and what not into people. No one liked him, Hitsugaya had only seen him once and he never wanted to ever again. Nemu, on the other hand, was the kinder of the two but acted like a slave for her father, doing whatever she was told to do without a second thought. In the building, there were three areas, one for the weak powered, one for the medium powered and the other for the vigorous ones. Each type had different style of structures to hold them in, he was in the toughest, and there was no chance of escaping from this.

The light from the peek hole was the only source he had, standing right beside it. Luckily, the walls seemed to reflect it, making the room dim enough to see but it was still dark. A rustle came from the other side of the wall, the sound unfamiliar to the prisoner. Hitsugaya gazed up from his spot, his white hair sticking into the air and glanced over to the little hole that was in the wall. It was large enough to fit a hand or two through, nothing more than that. Hitsugaya gazed into it from away but saw nothing inside. But there was _someone_ on the other side _but_ it wasn't possible or he would have noticed earlier. There was just no way, he had been here for a while and had never heard anyone behind it before. It was odd and he was really in tuned with these types of things, it was after all, lonesome in here.

"Hello, is someone there?" A voice called out from the darkness of the other side. It was muffled out by the stone wall but loud enough to be heard clearly.

Curiosity came to the albino, crawling on his knees to the little hole. The rustle from the other side was getting exonerate. He replied back, his voice cracking from the underused of it. "H-Hello?"

"Ah." The voice, a male by the looks of it, spoke calmly. "Are you okay? You sound a little tired."

"I do?" Hitsugaya muttered to himself, he wasn't sure what time it was, he had lost that sense a few months ago. He noticed instantly that the man didn't sound like him, he appeared too cheery for someone in this type of place, and it was suspicious. "You don't sound all too concerned with your situation. Are you new here?"

"New?" It sounded amused. "Nope, I've been here for over a year, in and out. I always managed to escape but now that I've been placed into _this_ cell that seems impossible. Ah well."

Hitsugaya thought he could sense the person shrugging as if this was all but a game to him. The man didn't have any concern at all and replied blandly. "I see."

He felt jealous of the other yet sorry at the same time. The only reason he had been thrown in here was because of his powers, his ice abilities. Hitsugaya was better known as 'The Ice Prince', the strongest of the ice users, people that had magical abilities but they all had different types like fire and lighting. His powers allowed him to make the atmosphere turn cold, change the weather and turn any liquid into a solid at thought; he could even control it by will too. Everyone's were all different but they were all treated like crap. People were afraid of them; they feared their powers, seeing as they could level buildings with ease. And that was where Mayuri came in and this hell hole.

No one wanted to be here in the first place, they had been kidnapped and trapped in these cells, he would know, after all, he was here as well. Everything had a tight lock on him but somewhere in his heart, a new light was coming back to his eyes perhaps this person could keep him company and sane.

The young ice user called out to the other, leaning onto the wall. "I'm Hitsugaya Toushirou."

A soft teasing chuckle answered him. "Good to meet ya, I'm-"

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"Whitey-chan! Wake up!" A female cried out from behind a door. She knocked loudly on it, startling the white haired man away from his slumber. He rolled around in his bed, not willing to wake up just yet; it was too comfortable to get up. Burying his face into the pillow, he tried to fall back asleep but to no avail as the woman cried out again. "Whitey! Are you awake?"

The guy finally sat up from his bed, stretching his limbs and yawned, proceeding to rub his eyes. "It's Hitsugaya and yes, I'm awake, Hinamori." He called out; heaving the covers off and slid his feet off the side of the bed, touching the cold ground with the bare soles. He ignored the cold sensation that ran up his spine; he was the ice prince, someone who was born and lived with the cold. A little shiver wouldn't affect him, heat, however, was a different story.

He wandered over to the window, ripping open the curtains, letting the sunlight beam in. His skin warmed at the light and took a deep breath of the morning air, staring out into the town from his apartment. He turned back to his room, the dream still fresh in his mind. Wandering about it, his eyes went a little dull from the memory. Shaking his head, he ignored his thoughts for the moment and observed his little room. It was tiny but livable and it wasn't as if he liked getting those million dollar condos, he didn't like to show off his fortune. His mind went back to his dream without him noticing; a sour expression filled his face. It was his past, a life he never wanted to repeat again. 'I haven't had it for a long time, I wonder why now.' Pushing the question away for the moment, his emerald pools went to the entrance of his room.

The door room opened, revealing the female who had called out to him. Her hair was tied up in bun and she had a smile on her face, obviously in a good mood. "Breakfast is ready."

He gave a nod, motioning her to leave and proceeded to get dress for another day of work and stress. Why the stress you ask? Well there was a problem with poor Hitsugaya; he was short, incredibly short. So much so, that he was often made fun of for it. And his white hair only added to it with the list continuing. On that so called file, he was deemed a genius, a cold person that looked like he was still in elementary school and much more. He hated being called a shorty or anything along those lines that contracted his small size as well as being called by something else than his real name.

A lot of the conversations at work went something like this.

"Hey kid, this is a place for adults, play time is over, go home to your mommy."

Hitsugaya would twitch and reply back with a icy voice. "I'm the leader of the division here."

"Really? How old are you?" It was a common question since no one really believed that he worked here.

"Eighteen."

"Do you have a high school diploma? Part-timers aren't allowed here since the schedules are pretty tight."

Yes."

"What about your collage degree?"

"I got my masters when I was sixteen."

Of course, if he could convince everyone that asked those ridiculous questions, it would be a miracle. "I don't believe you; you're too young-looking to be able to get that far."

"It's true." With that he would walk away since there was nothing else to be said.

And that ended the discussion, hoping that Hitsugaya wouldn't have to fire the new guy or some jackass that hated working under people that are younger then them, he went back to work.

After making sure that everything was in order, he headed out to meet the others that lived with him. Hinamori was at the kitchen table, gulping down some juice, orange by the looks of the color. His emerald pools went to the other two, a red head named Renji and a blond one named Kira. Renji was a strange man that appeared to be some gangster; he had black tattoos all over his body and an arrogant attitude. Kira, on the other hand, was the weakest-willed of the three with a blond bang covering a portion of his face and was the most emotional. He was usually the one that broke down the easiest and maybe panicked too. But basically those three were all good friends and had decided to live together to pay off the rent which was quite high in these parts of the neighborhood. He, alternatively, had been dragged off the streets by his childhood friend, Hinimori and forced to live here until he had somewhere else to go. Hitsugaya had no parents nor support since they both had died when he was young by events he'd rather not remember.

His eyes went down to his right hand, there on his middle finger was a ring decorated in a plain gold with numerous moon crescents in a pattern around the top. Underneath it was the Karats numbers and two letter but they had been worn out over time. His fingers massaged it gently feeling the bumps under his flesh. Heading over to the table, he sat down, examining the others as they ate. He, apparently, wasn't hungry today, that old dream had taken away all of his appetite, luckily, no one noticed this which he was grateful for. He hated to be mother-hen like a little baby and it was mostly done by Hinamori, her and her bubbly personality. Renji just continued to scarf down what looked like pancakes (no one could really cook so most of the time the food never turned out how they were supposed to look like but fortunately, it was still edible) while Kira was finishing his.

Hitsugaya sighed mentally; keeping a straight face on, sipping on the glass of milk he had poured himself before rising up from his seat. Unlike the three here, he'd like to get to work a little ahead of time, miss the heavy traffic and not be late. Putting the empty cup into the sink, he headed to the door inaudibly. "I'll be going now, bye."

He didn't give them a chance to say anything before exiting, closing the door on their faces. It was quiet again but he had gotten used to it being like this. The silence could no longer bother someone who had lived in it for months. Hitsugaya glanced back to the door with a strained stare before shaking his head, proceeding away from his apartment. Exiting the building, he went to the nearest bus station, fortunately catching a ride from the one that had just arrived. The trip was noisy with the numerous people trying to get to work just like him, not that he cared too much about them; his trip was short either way compared to some others. His eyes kept watch for his stop, gazing through the windows for the familiar skyscraper building he worked at. It appeared around the next corner, the famous corporation of Seireitei. Though it employed many talented people but even he knew of how corrupted it was on the inside, many of them that worked there were greedy beyond imagination. There were ten main head groups, the top one, which is the first and the one that lead that group was the boss for the entire company. (There were originally thirteen but man of them had to be closed down) He happened to be one of the top ten in the eighth group that collected projects, made the bids on things here and there. He also had a subordinate named Matsumoto but to be completely honest, she didn't do worth crap. All she did around the building was drink and mingle around with the coworkers, distracting them too. What annoyed him the most about her was when she made those silly comments about her gigantic breasts but altogether, she was a good person.

His roommates also worked here but they were in different divisions. He didn't care much about them and how they were doing unless it caught his attention.

When his stop came, he pushed his way through the crowd to the door and stepped onto the sidewalk, standing right in front of the building. He couldn't help but gaze up to the top before heading over to the front entrance, reaching to his pockets for his identification card. The security team (which is one of the ten teams with a man named Kenpachi leading them) took one glance at him and two of the rushed forward.

"I'm sorry but children aren't allowed here." A bald man named Ikkuka stated rudely, blocking the pathway.

The albino's right eye twitched, raising his identification card up into the man's face. "I'm Hitsugaya Toushirou, the head leader of the project department. Now unless you move, I'll take your actions against me into account and report it to your boss."

Immediately after that, he was allowed entrance, no one messed with him until he made it up to the 20th floor (there are 60 floors in all but the departments are all scattered around). As the door to the elevator opened, he was greeted with the work area where numerous of people were working with computers and talking on phones. He went through the middle area, ignoring all the comments from his co-workers until he passed one of the desks where a group of gossipers were chatting to each other. He was about to make a remark on demanding them to get back to work when the left one started speaking, completely ignoring the face that her boss was right behind. "Hey, have you heard about this little rumor that's going around?"

"What rumor?" The other one responded with earnest.

"They say that there's someone that's going around knocking on doors of everything even in the bathroom but when someone goes to open it, there's no one there."

The one on the right snapped her head up. "I think that rumor is true, it happened to me once in the meeting room with my friend. We were talking about one of the projects when the door started knocking. I went to open it but there was no one. I closed it but it started again right after I took a few steps away. I asked the security people to check on it but they said that there was no one there the whole time."

The girls gasped together as if entertained. "How weird."

Hitsugaya shaked his head, pushing the information back into his head and continued on. He wasn't going to bother with telling them off, they weren't going to listen to him anyway. He made it into the safety of his office and finally was able to relax. His room was isolated from everyone else and it blocked out all the babbling of the outside area. He sunk into his chair, turning on his computer, waiting for it to load up and sighed, folding his arms.

It as at that moment, a woman came into the room, carrying a large stack of papers, towering up to the head. Hitsugaya kept a straight face as he watched the nightmare come closer and inwardly groaned. How he hated paperwork. 'Better get to work then'. He started immediately on organizing the paper stack into different categories the split second the woman left. It was going to be a long day, he knew that. As he began the first sheet from the stack on the far left, he scanned it, writing down his signature. When he was about to grab the second sheet after completing the first, the door knocked and opened before he could give his consent. He didn't realize who it was until he stood to look over the gruesome amount of paperwork to see. His eyes froze on the person that stood before him, the frown transforming into a scold.

"What are you doing here, Ichimaru? Don't you have work to do yourself?" Hitsugaya sneered, flopping back down on his chair, deciding to ignore the older albino.

Ichimaru grinned, his eyes closed, he looked like a fox, mischievous and dangerous. He skipped over to the younger man's side, glancing over the shoulder. "Ah, is that how ya greet little ol' me? How mean and here I was trying to say 'hello'."

"I doubt what you have in mind would be a 'hello'." It was a instant reply, something he said every time the man came in.

Ichimaru chuckled, carefully pushing aside a few of the paper stacks, making sure that they wouldn't tumble over and sat on the desk comfortably. He grinned, flapping his a hand at the younger man. "Well, how's your day been? Mines been great."

Hitsugaya continued to ignore him, his concentration on the paperwork. The older man was someone that regularly visits the company, delivering items to certain people from his store where he worked. The ice prince was sure about what the man delivered though and he didn't want to find out. The older albino was very mysterious, holding that tone and accent to whomever he talked to. When he spoke even when he was saying some kind words, they sounded murderous and twisted, someone that couldn't be trusted with their very life. Eccentrically whenever the man came to the building, he made a point in seeing him as well; pestering the busy worker for an hour or two just chattering about something or sitting in total silence as Hitsugaya scribbled on the papers and checked the prices. Today was like no other, an eerie silence but that was broken when Ichimaru spoke up suddenly.

"You always have such pretty white hair just like snow." Ichimaru patted the head gently, rubbing it, shifting the locks. He ran his boney fingers through it, the smooth feeling in-between his hands.

Hitsugaya whacked the hand away. "Stop that, I have better things to do than entertain you."

"Aw." Ichimaru pouted. "And I came all this way to see you, that's really cold, kicking me out." The older man gave this dramatic gesture but the eyes remained the same. He wrapped his arms around the other's neck after jumping off the table. His head was on top of Hitsugaya's, nudging into it in amusement. The younger man ignored it, this was a regular action, but at least when Ichimaru did that, he could hide his growing blush. After a while, Ichimaru retracted back to the table and sat back down. He swung his legs childishly as if he was on a swing and stared at the chibi.

"Hey, you look a little pale, are you eating enough or maybe you're sick?" He leaned over, placing a hand on the forehead as if feeling for a temperature, the sickening grin still there unaffected by anything. "Well there's no fever."

"I'm fine, Ichimaru, now if you don't mind, please leave." The younger swatted the offending hand away, getting back to work. The older man was the only person that could make him crack out of his tough shell he had spent years building up. Ichimaru just had the natural talent in getting pass it and with ease.

"Okay, okay. I get it, Snowy-chan; I might come tomorrow so you better be well by then." For the first time, Ichimaru was actually leaving early for once but not before getting a quick response of 'It's Hitsugaya!'. The younger albino began to feel empty at the sudden departure. Shaking his head in denial, he kept working even after the man left.

Extraordinarily when _he_ appeared in his room, no one ever wanted to enter until _after_ Ichimaru left. No one liked the man not that he blamed them on it. It was ironic; he got rid of one problem while gaining another. What was even worse was how his heart beated around the man. Even at the beginning when he had first meet the guy, his blood had coursed around his body as if he was on fire without a reason. He had this sense of _familiarity_ but Hitsugaya could never pinpoint why, he didn't remember ever meeting the person before. A grin like his would have plastered itself into his memory.

His emerald pools when back to the paper stacks, pushing the thoughts of the other away. He had to get all this filing down by the end of the hour; he was going to have to rush on this. Oh well, when was that ever a problem?

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Alright, I got so many things to work on.

N/A- I'm not going to do the accent for Ichimaru or anyone else for that matter, its gets confusing later on if I do that so I'd like to avoid confusing people and myself.

How do you like the beginning? I'd like comments and things. Please, review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: The Return**

**By: Metamorcy**

**Rating**: T

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo (later in the story when they appear), Grimmjow x Ulquiorra (later too). The last two pairings will show up as it processes, sorry.

**Disclaimer**: don't own Bleach

This is an Ichimaru x Hitsugaya fanfic. It's the first time I'm trying this pairing out. There with be 13 chapters in all or maybe more. AU This is actually my first time doing this pairing so be nice people.

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Reviews:

(too lazy to actually response so I'll do it here).

**Scorpiosgirl**- Thanks

**KivaEmber**- Oh, can't tell you that. That would be a spoileerrrrr!!

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Chapter 2

"Hey, hey."

Hitsugaya picked his head up from his lap at the sound of the voice, glancing over to the wall. He blinked away the tiredness in his eyes, rubbing it with the back of his hand.

"I managed to catch a glimpse of you behind the door when they were taking you away." The voice spoke contentedly, leaning towards the hole with a droll tone. "You're pretty short, aren't you? And almost white like a snowball too." A laughter came afterwards, Hitsugaya snorted, bending closer to the opening, his right eye twitching.

"Don't call me 'short', I was born this way!" The ice prince yelled, lying on the floor to hear better. He huffed out a breath of air when the cackle continued, louder than before. When it finally plummet down, going to a soft snicker, Hitsugaya shaked his head, deciding to ask the other something off topic. "So…what are you in here for?"

"Me?" The voice now sounded amused as if saying 'isn't it obvious?' but answered anyway. "I guess it's because I can't…_die_."

Hitsugaya blinked questionably, his interest perked. "What do you mean?"

"Hmm…How to say this? You can do whatever you want to my body, cut it up, slit my throat, anything at all and I won't die. I end up healing all of my injuries automatically even the fatal ones and I can't age either. It's sometimes like a living hell at some points. Plus some of my abilities are a little weird too; I deal with the supernatural and can draw them towards me easily. I actually use that to my advantage for getting work though, well, when I was outside. Usually I handle the dangerous ones that _have_ to be exterminated then those that need to be passed on by, you know, helping their troubles and what not. I like to avoid those type. I also fight demons and monsters from the underworld as well so I'm pretty diversed."

A little pause came between them as the ice prince tried to absorb the new information. He stayed silent, his intelligence inquiring the other psychologically.

"Why are you telling _me_ this?" Hitsugaya asked, finding this man eccentric. Why would someone be speaking their secrets when he couldn't see who was hearing it? Surely there were cameras in the room, watching their every move. Also, the things he had just hear were a little on the outlandish side, supernatural, he could believe but demons and monsters, on the other hand, he wasn't so sure about. He had never managed to see one so he couldn't believe but he knew that the possibility was still there (Hitsugaya had a few encounters with ghosts and sprits before, not all of them are pleasant).

The man shrugged, not concerned. "You know, I don't really know myself. I just want to babble for awhile."

Hitsugaya felt a shiver run down his spine, the voice didn't seem affected instead it sounded joyous by the subject. Now that he thought about it, the man couldn't die, that was a major ability that millions of people would want the secret to, the surreptitious to immortality. But he understood about the man's position, though he had lived for only eleven year, he still looked like someone in kindergarten (1). Apparently, his ice powers wouldn't allow him to age normally either and that added to his already large baggage. Unexpectedly, he felt odd; the bitterness of the place, getting back at him, even his powers couldn't keep this sensation away. He squeezed his hands together, the fingernails digging into the skin, bruising it. A shuffle came from beside him and he felt something vigilantly touch his neck flesh with a tender sense. The ice prince instantly jumped up, startled by the contact only to realize that it was a single hand coming from the gap. The fingers in the limb were boney and pale but they didn't seem to be suffering from hunger that most would be in this situation.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, crawling back over with his voice firm, seeing as nothing bad was happening.

"Comforting you. Is that so bad?" The voice chuckled, retracting the hand back. Hitsugaya didn't answer that. The next time the man spoke, the tone was softer, almost compassionate. "Come closer and give me your hand."

"And why would I do that?" Hitsugaya glared coldly at the hole. It was suspicious; a few wild thoughts were running in his head, this looked like something out of a horror movie where some idiot sticks their hand inside a baffling crack and gets it sliced off. He defiantly didn't want to become a victim of that.

"Aw, don't be so mean; just give me your hand." The voice tried to reassure the albino. "Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you."

The prince hesitated but did so, outstretching it and felt the other grab his. It was placed into a headlock and Hitsugaya could fell the warmth spread from the hand to his arm. It was a sensation that was inexpressible to him, something he hadn't felt for a long time. He had almost forgotten how it was to be in contact with another person. His hand grasped tighter on the heat, his body yearning for it, for the warmth he could never receive in this sinister situation. It was a comforting sentiment and he felt a smile begin to surface on his lips, something he hadn't done ever since being trapped here. His body shifted closer to the other.

The voice chuckled amusingly. "Better, Shorty?"

"Don't call me, Shorty!" He shouted back venomously but his response was thin and weak. When he ducked beside the hole for a better look, he could see the two hands binded together (his and the voice's) and noticed something. There was a ring on the man's middle finger and it rubbed against the in-between of his digits but he took it out of his mind before pondering about it any further. A silence came over between the two; the screams of people being dragged down to the pit could be heard echoing down the hallways, filling in their rooms with horrible sounds. There were the wails of the other prisoners just like them, others that have broken down and some that were initiating to. Yet he hasn't (one of the very few), maybe because he had found someone that could keep him sane from the madness of the obscurity that threatened to engulf him everyday.

"Hey, Shorty, can I make you a promise?" The man whisper through the opening, a puff of air ran over their hands.

"A promise?" He spoke back questionably, ignoring about the stupid nickname for the time being, scooting closer to hear, his own breaths running over his cheeks when he bended over.

"Yeah, could I promise to-"

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"Sir Toushirou, wake up!"

A hand shook him awake from his intense rest by the shoulders. Lifting his head tiredly from his arms, he gazed to the person that had rudely woken him up and glared grimly. He recognized the strong smell of perfume and the long red hair that draped over the shoulders and, _and_…_Those_! Those huge breasts that were _right_ in his face, so close that it allowed him to see everything and even to the cleavage and belly button. The shirt was _that_ low cut and loose. His face darkened by ten degrees, burning at the sight but he was _also_ stalwartly disgusted, this woman was _way_ too ostentatious. He hated looking at _them_ and the woman wasn't making it easier for him to do that.

"_Matsumoto_!" He cried out, yanking himself away from the ungodly sight and growled silently, trying to contain his anger. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The woman huffed, putting her hands on the waist as if offended. "Waking you up, that's what. It's already past lunch time, sir." She draw back and wandered around the room. He noticed that she was shivering violently from something and observed her as she sauntered to the thermostat. Her hands were rubbing her arms hastily for friction as if trying to keep warm. "What the? Why is it so cold in here?"

Hitsugaya blinked, watching his assistant check the temperature on the air controller. What did she mean it was cold? He didn't feel anything…oh wait, it _is_. He inwardly moaned, feeling the chilliness on his limbs and cheeks. It was freezing.

Matsumoto's eyes widened significantly and blinked at the numbers disbelievingly and double checked to see if what she saw was correct. "Wait, it's supposed to be _seventy_ degrees in here? Then why is it so cold? Has the air conditioner broken?" She had the expression that said 'Its bloody _forty_ degrees in here, not seventy!' Matsumoto flickered her eyes a few more times just to make sure and wiggled her nose, slapping the object at the side. The loud smack earned a flinch from Hitsugaya and he prayed that his assistant hadn't broken it by now.

He laughed nervously and twitched to himself; he must have accidentally cooled the room with his magic while he was asleep. Taking a deep breath, he searched out for his source of power and quickly cut the freezing energy off. The room slowly began warming up, the heater on full blast thanks to his _wonderful_ assistant (can't you hear the sarcasm). Matsumoto stopped shivering and rubbing her arms once the room met a tepid temperature, rotating back to her boss with a gleeful look.

"Well, what did you come here for?" Hitsugaya asked dreadfully, his gut sentiment illuminating him to get away _and fast_. Whenever the woman showed up, it meant something, _always_ something (just like Ichimaru and actually it was yesterday that the guy visited so it wasn't long). She was usually wandering around the building with her drinking buddies, Kira and some other guy he forgot the name to. It was very, _very_ rare for her to _actually_ appear before him.

Matsumoto suddenly gave this innocent look and smiled. "I came hear just to wake you up and talk. Is that so bad?"

He continued to stare, hardening it and narrowed his eyebrows. There was_ no way_ he would believe that lie.

The woman still grinned even as her hands went down below the desk level, bending down. His emerald pools observed her closely (while ignoring the boob show); he was very suspicious about the way she was acting. As her hands came back up, Hitsugaya felt trepidation coming to him, there before him, was a large pile of paperwork, _four_ stacks of them. He could do one thing in his situation, groan. There were a few things of his imaginary list he hated; one of them was when his assistant dispensed her work over to him. He had been tempted to fire the woman a couple of times but in the end, he never got around it. He growled loudly and was grinding his teeth together in frustration, glaring at her coldly. "Matsumoto."

"Sorry, leader, got to go."

Before he could say a thing, she ran out the door, waving a hand and disappeared. The closing on it made Hitsugaya slam his fists into the wooden desk in aggravation. The mincing of his teeth got so hard that a squeaky sound was created from the friction. Muttering something along the lines of 'damn her', his mind slowly went back to his dream unconsciously. It wasn't uncommon for him to revisit those old memories but afterwards, they made his mood fall and sometimes dropped the temperature in the room so he usually avoided them. His emerald pools gazed away from the stacks and stared at the wall as if he could get an answer from it to solve this paperwork problem. His mind continued where the dream had left off.

"_Yeah, could I promise to protect you? Now and forever?" _

It was a vow to make the other have something to live for, something to hold onto. Hitsugaya understood this and had grasped that promise for himself as well, tying it into his heart. He wanted to believe at that time that the man beside him, behind the walls, would protect him from anything that tried to cause harm. Back then, he really had and hoped that it would last. The ice prince sighed; it was a foolish but wishful undertake, one that no longer existed in the present and in reality. He didn't even know where the guy had gone to after the chaotic escape, after the unexpected opening of the doors inside the asylum. What had happened to cause such a thing, even he didn't know but the only thought that had gone through his mind during that flee was '_freedom'_.

Hitsugaya exhaled down-heartedly, turning back to the documents he had no choice but to check. Lifting up the pen, he filling it out writing but his mind wasn't on the manuscript itself, still pondering about the old promise. Before his thoughts could get too far, a knock on his door interrupted him. His head perked upright, staring at the wooden frame and called out. "It's open."

No one entered, the doorknob didn't jiggle or twist or anything but it continued it's banging. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at this, was someone playing a joke on him? He tried again; maybe the person didn't hear him. "Come in."

Still nothing happened but at least it stopped, shrugging his shoulders he got back to work. Just as he placed the utensil on the paper, the door started up again. Growling in frustration, he ignored it but the beat got harder, faster and louder to the point where Hitsugaya jumped up from his seat and stalked over to the entrance. There was a shadow on the bottom of the door, wiggling around as if stirring impatiently. It was still knocking when he grasped the handle and swung it open. He froze upon the spot.

_There was no one_.

Everyone outside was acting normal, people answering phone calls and scanning the computers. Blinking, he glanced around the bottom of his feet, there was nothing wrong. There _was_ an air of uncertainty and a strong indescribable scent lurking on his nose that something had been here but what?

Hitsugaya blinked, _or_ maybe he had been imagining things. Yeah, that should be it or else the people outside would have heard it, something as loud as _that_ couldn't go unnoticed. Closing the door, he waved it off and strolled back to his desk, ready to get back to work when it happened _again_. Hitsugaya was certain of it now; there _was_ a creature triggering this. His chest could feel a dark presence behind it, the shadow still twirling underneath. This time instead of trying to approach it, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, suddenly remembering the conversation between those gossip girls (2). A ghost that liked to scare people by hitting the doors and disappearing upon opening. He frowned at the childishness of this one.

He would usually ignore such a confrontation of the supernatural, but! It was pestering _him_ and that didn't fit well with him and his _busy_ schedule. Hitsugaya already had enough problems at hand, no need to add a couple more to that growing list. He made the air around him grow cold; a thick puff of warm smoke oozed from his parted lips. Ice particles began materializing on the walls, developing downward like water droplets; the door stopped instantaneously, the apparition that been surrounding it disappeared from the surge of power that flowed off his body. The ice prince griped softly, a huff of steam pending before him and quickly halted the rapid temperature decrease, providing it enough time to recover just incase someone decided to waltz in that instant. Deciding to take his mind off the little encounter, his eyes gazed to the pile of documents that stood before him like an enemy. Four whole stacks that was towering a foot or two high above his head. He growled, he would have to work over time in order to finish all this. He sat back down on his chair and stretched his limbs, getting ready for the torture. Hoisting up his pen, he quickly started filling them out and checking the information by the computer logs. The sprit that had been looming at his entrance was forgotten in his desperate attempt to complete everything.

Hitsugaya slumped back in his chair to rest his aching back then stretched before standing up he had _finally_ completed everything. He was probably one of the last few people that were left in the building (the others are the security guards that roam in the camera/control room). Everyone else had gone home for the day so it was quiet and many of the lights had been turned off (its about eight o'clock right now). His roommates had gone back ahead of him, not that he cared. Sure, he was friendly (to an extent) but he felt no attachment to them whatsoever. Making sure that everything was neat and orderly, just how he liked it, he gathered his things together, getting ready to leave and head on home for rest and relaxation.

_The lights of his room flickered. _

His hand paused at his jacket he had brought in today. His eyes scanned the area before grabbing it, his fingers squeezing the material tightly. Making his way to the door, the light flickered again. His pace quickened, rushing to the frame and exited before anything else could happen. He had to get out of the building and _fast_. He could feel the previous presence that had annoyed him in the afternoon close by and he didn't like that. The ice prince examined the main office area; hardly any of the lights were on except for the emergency one which was quite a few. He dashed across the maze of small offices, trying to make his way to the elevator, hoping that nothing appalling would happen. As he extended his arm, the lights flickered, this time faster and it stayed off longer. He made contact with the elevator button, pressing it but the light wouldn't turn on. Hitsugaya growled, now wasn't the time to be messing around. He was tempted to stomp his foot at the ground in aggravation but didn't, that wasn't his style. His emerald pools glanced to the side; he had no other choice but to make for the stairs. Rushing over, he glanced into the work area and saw nothing. He pressured on the door handle only to find it locked, _tightly_. Grumbling loudly, he was ticked off and enticed to kick it open just for the heck of it. A crash occurred behind him and then a soft giggle echoed. Twisting back around, Hitsugaya glared coldly into the place for any sign of…anything.

"Who's there?" The air went icy, he tried to drop the temperature again but the chuckling didn't stop. It seemed that the ghost wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice. Grinding his teeth, his eyes and eyebrows slanted downward, pressing his body against the wall for safety. A stapler was thrown at him, missing the target by a few feet but it managed to surprise the albino. The lights flickered faster, almost going out entirely and the voice got louder. Hitsugaya noticed that the things that were being tossed seem to be going in order. As the ghost got closer, the item it was grabbing was near to it. He grumbled out in irritation, thinking of a plan that could work. Maybe he should try attacking it with some blades of ice he could summon around his arm but there was a _major_ problem, he couldn't _see_ the enemy. He couldn't just attack blindly and pray that he hit something, that was suicidal, the albino called out. "What the hell do you want?"

A giggle responded then an answered.

"_Fun_."

Hitsugaya froze, _the voice had come from beside him_, a shiver ran down his spine. He felt a frozen hand crawl on his shoulder, his eyes slowly traveling to the side, ready to meet this nightmare head on. Ice was materializing on his hand, ready to attack and fight back.

"Vanish!"

Suddenly, a bright light engulf the side where he had heard the declare. The hand disappeared in it; a strong warmth filled that space and magically lifted up his sprits. Hitsugaya watched as the luminosity ate away whatever was there and weakened back, fading. The radiance and everything turned back to normal as if nothing had happened in the first place. The ice prince took a deep breath, relaxing…for the moment.

"Well if it isn't Snowy-chan!"

That voice and teasing tone sounded _so_ familiar that Hitsugaya flinched back to his previous tense state, his eyes twisting to the man. He recognized the white hair and that sneaky troublesome fox-like grin that could only belong to one person.

"Ichimaru." His lips whispered out the name before he could think straight. He was too shocked about seeing the other man that he hadn't thought about anything else. Of all the things that had happened today, Ichimaru's appearance was more startling than the ghost's. It was _far_ too late to be making a delivery since the older man needed to get a signature from the customer but there was no one here except for him and the older albino. Hitsugaya wiggled his nose, alone here, with that man, that _didn't_ exactly sound good for him. He hid his ice coated arm behind his back, the frozen water dissipating, hoping that Ichimaru hadn't seen it. Straightening himself, he cautiously stepped over to the man with wide eyes. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Ichimaru grinned, tilting his head to the side and placed a finger under his chin. "You see, I forgot to deliver something and decided to do it right now, apparently it's for one of the security guards. But when I was leaving, I noticed something strange about this floor and being the kind-hearted guy I am, I came here to investigate and found you all shriveled up."

The ice prince took that answer but wasn't exactly happy about how the man spoke about his condition he was in. Honestly, he was grateful for being saved and all though being in the man's debt wasn't a pleasant thing either. The younger albino narrowed his eyes, remembering the light. "Then how about that ability you showed off, the one that destroyed the ghost?"

"Just a magic trick I learned long ago." The other leaned in, closing in their faces. Hitsugaya could feel the warm breath on his cheek and blushed, his mind process pausing. He watched as the other man's visage draw closer. It was just then that the elevator door opened up with a loud 'ding', waking the smaller albino up. Hitsugaya stared at Ichimaru for a few seconds longer before heading over to the open metal doors, stepping in with the older albino behind. For a second, he thought he had seen a frown on the man's face but tossed the idea out of his head. Ichimaru, depressed? Ridiculous. The ride down was quiet and unnerving but there was nothing to do about it but wait for it to end. Those few seconds felt like hours to the younger and it wasn't calming. When the exit slid apart again, at the bottom floor, they stepped out together. Ichimaru swiftly stopped in front of Hitsugaya, tilting his head to the side. "Snowy-chan, I think I deserve something for _all_ the trouble I went through to save you."

"Save me?" Hitsugaya snorted, glaring at the still smiling man. "You didn't save-"

He was cut off when something soft covered his mouth, silencing any and all of his arguments. The lips were soft and cool, the surface moist and the ice prince didn't and couldn't budge from his spot, too shocked to move or fight back. Ichimaru took advantage of that state, sticking his tongue inside and explored the inner cave. Staring at the face before him, Hitsugaya gaped in shock, shaking himself from the sensation; Ichimaru was kissing him, _him_ of all people. He felt his cheeks burn at the thought and retracted instantly, yanking away from the pleasant tingling.

Glaring coldly at the other man, whose grin had grown twice as large as before, he spat out an argument, stepping back further. "What the _hell_ was that _for_?!"

Ichimaru snickered, taking a stride forward in amusement. "My reward, of course. Well the, good-night!" He ran out the automatic entrance before Hitsugaya could say anything else and laughed contentedly while waving a hand behind. It only took a split second for the ice prince to regain his surroundings and race after the other albino, rage obvious to his features.

"Ichimaru, get back here, I'm not done with you yet!" He exited the building but the lot was empty. Ichimaru was already gone. Growling, he kicked the ground and grumbled about something before heading off to the buses.

He was unaware of the fox-like stare or the red eyes that followed his frame from the darkness. Nor did he see two people, one with vibrant orange hair, the other white, hiding in the shadows of the night.

* * *

(1). – He looks even younger here so, of course, his body is smaller.

(2). - Look back at chapter 1

I'm sorry I took so long in updating; it's just that my parents have taken me off during that time and that school had gotten really hectic, really. I was hoping to put it up sooner but didn't have the chance. I'm sad now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: The Return**

**By: Metamorcy**

**Rating**: T

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo (later in the story when they appear), Grimmjow x Ulquiorra (later too). The last two pairings will show up as it processes, sorry.

**Disclaimer**: don't own Bleach

This is an Ichimaru x Hitsugaya fanfic. It's the first time I'm trying this pairing out. There with are 13 chapters in all or maybe more. AU This is actually my first time doing this pairing so be nice people.

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**Scorpiosgirl**- Not sure if I'd run, I think I would just stand there and say 'cool' without realizing that I just got myself killed.

**KivaEmber**- ……I can't say anything anymore. You have defeated me. (Goes and cries in the corner)

**Fan girl 666- **Thanks

**Loving Monday- **Thanks

**PirateCaptainBo- **Oh thanks

**TehGlompingKitsune45- **thanks

Ah man, all I can say is 'thanks' that's not cool of me.

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I was watching a video on youtube and stumbled upon those reversed songs that have hidden messages. Well I was listening to T.A.T.U.'s clown in reversed and it couldn't so cool, somehow it was better than the original. I f you want to see it put in **Tatu clowns reversed **it should be from Kotenoka (there are a few people that puts these up but never the subs, he actually did it so yeah).

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Chapter 3

"Hey, what's that on your right hand?" Hitsugaya suddenly asked one day or night, whatever time it was now. He couldn't keep track of it anymore and it no longer seemed important. Plus with the conversations getting shorter, the silence was deafening. There was hardly anything to talk about anymore since the topics had started running out. The person on the other side shuffled closer to the wall to answer.

"Oh, you mean my ring? What about it? Are you, by any chance, interested in me?" The voice teased wildly, snickering, completely turning the subject matter against the ice prince. A full-fledged laugher followed but it was muffled out with something. Apparently the man had used his sleeves to make it softer so not to be heard from outside.

Hitsugaya, on the other hand, didn't take it too well; he didn't like jokes. He was always the butt end of them, being short and all and huffed out angrily, the left eye twitching. His bare fingers grasped the metal bars in rage, about to rattle them. "No, you bastard! I'm just asking about it! There's nothing else to do around here!"

"Hmmm? So you _are_ interested, well then, I'll tell you." The man ignored the interruptive snarl from the albino, continuing on. "It's from my old friend, he gave it to me long ago, further back than it is now…but he's dead already. Time has already corroded him into dust when I returned to his side. I don't remember much about him anymore, I can hardly see his face, it was so long ago. " The man's voice showed no sign of being affected from speaking about such a depressing matter; actually it was like he was happy about the whole ordeal.

"I...see." Hitsugaya regretted asking the simple question, to him, it only made the atmosphere feel, disheartening even if the other was still holding up his weird faze.

A hand reached out from the hole, nudging Hitsugaya at the side. The albino glanced down at it curiously, unsure on what to do. The hand was fisted up and didn't relax until the other grabbed it gently, placing his hand underneath. The grasp loosened, dropping an item into the waiting fingers and palm. Hitsugaya felt a familiar presence on his flesh and instantly recognized it upon examining. It was the ring they had been talking about.

"Keep it." The voice spoke calmly, not caring that he was giving away a priceless object and to a stranger to boot. It seemed he was smiling in his voice and retracted his hand back into the obscurity.

The other argued immediately. "I can't _possibly_ keep this. It's yours and your friend's; it'd be rude if I did." He shoved his limb through the hole, wanting to give it back but the man didn't take it, instead he wrapped his boney fingers around the small fist. The digits were able to envelop the entire hand and seized it still. Hitsugaya almost gasped, feeling the tepid fingers brush across his freezing flesh. The air in the rooms was colder than normal and sometimes worst at night, it got to the point he would be shivering for warmth. No one here in the asylum cared about them, they were experiments, disposable objects.

The voice spoke, nudging the hand back to where it belonged, the ring still inside. "No, I want you to keep it, think of it as a charm." The fingers let go, allowing Hitsugaya to gain control over his limb.

At first, the ice prince didn't reply staring down at the object in hand. The ring was golden-coated with silted crescents running along the top like a pattern with some initials inside but it was too dark to see. He pondered over the idea of acquiring someone else's treasure and his heart knew it wasn't right. There was no evenness in this and that was when something dawned onto him. He could make an equal trade. Putting the ring on his middle finger, he reached into his shirt, yanking out the only remaining article he had left.

A necklace.

It had a thin sliver chain that held it all together and at the bottom, the pendent was a bright blue crystal shaped into mysterious object with two wings and a tail (though he was sure it was something else but he never found out since his parents had died before explaining it to him) that could only be found by going deep into icy caves. These were extremely rare stones, most no longer able to be obtained and he had one right here. His right hand held tightly onto it, squeezing it, deep in thought before sighing. He was going to do it and extended in.

"Here, take this." Hitsugaya felt the warm hands touch his and dropped the pendent. As he was withdrawing his limb, the voice grasped him, startling him by the gesture. "Hey, let go!"

"One moment." The man called out, his accent filled with joy.

The ice prince felt the fingers draw the ring off and inserted on a different place. The silver slipped onto him effortlessly and with no trouble. The grip on his hand disappeared, the warmth gone and he tugged back, examining it closely. It was now on his ring finger. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at this, twisting his palm slightly, snorting at the humor. "Are you _proposing_ to me?"

"Maybe." He teased back, drawing out his word and then stopped, glancing down into his hand now taking the chance to scrutinize it. "What's this? A necklace?"

The young albino grumbled, rotating away. "Yeah, it is. It's my mother's keepsake and memento. She gave it to me right before she was killed so you better keep it safe…or else."

The man chuckled, placing it on and hid it underneath his ragged garbs. "I will, don't worry, it'll _never_ go away."

The ice prince smiled. "It'd better not."

* * *

Hitsugaya opened his emerald eyes to the bedroom, staring at the bland white ceiling that was still covered in darkness of the night. He had gotten another dream of his past, _another one_. His eyes went to the digital clock beside him on the nightstand, flashing '5:45' in bright red, blinking off and on. A tired groan escaped from his lips, it was going to be hard to fall back asleep now. He only had an hour left before Hinamori came scampering in to wake him up, banging stridently on his door. Griping, he sat up, stretching out his aching limbs and suppressed a yawn before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. The ice prince remained in that position, deep in thought, staring at the ring on his finger. It was the same one he had gotten from the man, the same design and everything but it was no longer on his ring finger (Hitsugaya had to move it back to his middle). He could already imagine the outcome if anyone had actually _seen_ it on _that_ finger, oh; all those questioning stares would drive him crazy. That was something he'd like to avoid greatly.

He sighed to himself, his expression changing visage. Hitsugaya had to be _honest_ with himself, the time he had spent with the other and only during _that_ time (Ignoring the part that he was trapped in an asylum as a prisoner) had been his most happiest moments. The torture and pain he had gone through there was all dulled by a single touch from the man, the warmth that seeped into his cold being had excited his blood.

Yes, he had fallen in love with that person even though he had never seen the guy before, but the feelings still existed. The personality he had been constantly been up against was arrogant, teasing, self-centered and downright annoying but he could tell through all that madness that the man had a softer side. His eyes went back down to the ring again and yanked it off, the familiarity gone, leaving the bitter atmosphere to eat his digit.

He was a cruel person, to the man and himself. Even though he had loved the person and still do, he had somehow forgotten the man's name. Not even his dreams of the past had helped recover it, the name blurred out. The ice prince groaned, he didn't know why though. Why he couldn't remember something so trivial as a name was beyond him. Perhaps if he knew, he could go searching for the individual and return the ring back and get his pendent. He knew that there was no way that anything _more_ could happen; everyone had moved on, surely the man too. Hitsugaya sighed again, his eyes tugging away from the ring and to the window. The moon was there, gradually fading as the sun peeped through the cracks of the buildings that soared up high into the sky. Numerous stars were twinkling in the sea of black, dancing in different beats and were vanishing with the moon. It was a beautiful rise just like any other he had seen but he preferred the night better.

His thoughts went to yesterday's events, to Ichimaru. He grinded his teeth at it, that guy really didn't know when to stop the pranks, not at all. And he received a kiss from the man too and that didn't settle well with him. He groaned at it, his mind still remembering the taste and feel of the lips on top of his own. Hitsugaya pushed himself back onto the bed and lied down in defeat. He, _again_, had fallen in love; there were two people now that were in his mind, both constantly fighting for the better. Just how screwed up was his life, really? (Don't answer that.)

Ichimaru had come into his life so unexpectedly that he had no time to react besides screaming "**Get Out!**" at the male. But the older albino had grown onto him like some sort of parasite, had become a necessary to his life in the office. And he couldn't help but feel a little awkward around the being. Still he was never going to admit that and will never show any of it in front of the man, keeping his emotions at check. He didn't want to be teased, oh hell no! That was a big no-no. He'd rather _die_ than confess to the fox-like man. _And yet_, he hoped in his heart that Ichimaru would come to him and last night proved that to an extent. Ichimaru had saved _him_ of all people from a ghost. Now if there was one thing the older man didn't do, that was help or work (besides doing his job). A person could be screaming for aid as they got dragged away by a rapist or something and he would just stand there, watching with that grin, that ugly mockery mischievous smile. He was _always_ like that, Hitsugaya knew _that_ to a point but that never explained how come he only came into the office to visit him, it didn't make any sense. The ice prince didn't know the guy, never meet him but Ichimaru had just popped up like nothing was wrong.

His eyes suddenly glanced over to the digital clock again. It read "6:30", he had another fifteen left before he was supposed to get up.

'Wow, thinking really does pass the time.' He stood up, getting himself dressed and ready for work. Smoothing out his messy bangs and spiky hair, he made his way to the bedroom door where the faint scent of bacon was admitting strongly from underneath. 'Fifteen minutes ahead of time shouldn't be too bad.'

Exiting out, he noted that the other two doors, Kira's and Renji's were still closed. 'Must not be awake yet.'

He went down the hall and spotted Hinamori cooking as usual. She didn't notice the other presence behind her until he was right there, peeping over the shoulder.

"So what are you making now?" He suddenly spoke. Hinamori flung back, the spatula departing into the air and cried out in shock, instantly rotating around to stare at the person. Hitsugaya had to jump back to make sure that none of the hot grease would get onto him. That would have been bad (that stuff hurts like hell, really). As the cooking item came back down, she made a mad attempt in catching it with one hand but no avail. The utensil kept going back up into the heavens, the grease allowing it to be slippery. The ice prince observed the older girl amusingly and raised an eyebrow at her reaction. After a while, Hitsugaya sighed, shaking his head and grabbed the spatula from the air after surveying the woman do ten more unsuccessful shots. He twirled it in his hand for a little bit before placing it down where Hinamori could reach. "Here."

"Oh thanks, Whitey-chan." She quickly went back to work, forgetting about the little incident he had caused, hoping to finish the food before the other two could wake up. "So, what are you doing up at this time? It's too early for you."

Hitsugaya took a seat at the table. "Couldn't sleep."

Hinamori paused her movements, glancing over to the albino with somewhat sparkling eyes. "Did you have a nightmare? Or was it to keep little ol' me company?"

He growled, he was being treated like a child again (he hated that strongly). "No, neither, I just couldn't sleep." Standing up, he headed to the front door of the little apartment, not wanting to take anymore of this. "You know what? I'm not really hungry today so I'm going to leave early."

"Ah!" She whined, rushing around the corner of the kitchen. "How come?"

"I'm…" Hitsugaya paused then spoke. "I'm just not in the mood for eating yet. I'll see you at work. Bye." He got out before she could reply, rushing down the stairs to keep the distance between them. There was also another reason for his sudden departure; he didn't want to get too close, to close to anyone. Why? Because he is the ice prince, a being that governs ice itself. And because of that, his life on the world was much longer than normal people, that probably explained why he still looked so young. He grumbled when he thought about…_that_.

As he went down the next set of stairs, his mind pondered over the things that had happened last night a few more times, getting his facts straight. He didn't bother taking the elevator today since he needed some more time to think which would be plenty of considering that he was on the tenth floor. His feet jumped from step to step, making his way to the bottom. When he reaches the door of the last floor, he felt his body tense up. Hitsugaya let out a heavy rasped breath, his fingers contracting into his palm.

_There was_ _another one of those_.

Hitsugaya grinded his teeth, backing away from the door, there was another ghost wandering around. How hadn't he noticed it? He didn't know, perhaps being too deep in thought was a bad thing. He closed his eyes, trying to pinpoint the creature (he couldn't leave the ghost here, that was too dangerous) and found it directly in front of him, a few feet away. The emerald pools caught sight of the person when he glared at it, callously. It appeared like a plain human, the body intact and normal except for the fact that her neck was twisted to the side, hanging down as if broken. The skin was white, almost reminding him of Ichimaru's and the eyes were soulless. A low growling noise came from the back of her throat and she reached forward with shaky white hands, the nails torn and broken. She took a step forward, the body creaking and with the head flopping side to side. He guessed that she was a victim of falling down the stairs and by the way she shifted, that possibility seemed truer.

Hitsugaya spent no time in backing up but he went into the wall, somewhat trapped below the stairs reels. This was a horrible position he was in, the battle plans already turning against him. He growled loudly, grinding his teeth together.

'Looks like I have no choice.' He outstretched his hand, encasing it with ice. It looked like a blade, as if the frost had grown out from his arm. The coolness against his skin was nice and welcoming but he didn't have much time to think about it as a snarl came from the woman. She rushed forward, letting out a gruesome scream, the fingers crunching together repeatedly, trying to grab something. He dodged to the right, rolling across the ground where there was still some open space, observing his ghostly enemy carefully and calculated his attack preparation. He didn't want to take any unnecessary risks and he _really_ didn't want to go to work all ragged and beaten.

The woman paused, seeing that her target was now out of her vision and twisted around, the bones in her bone creaking loudly. There were a few snaps as if something had broken at that movement, wobbling her feet to the side. Hitsugaya saw an opening and went for it, stabbing the woman in the stomach and drowned her in ice. A horrid cry came from her throat then silence as the wretched form and body disappeared. The presence he had felt from her was gone and he sagged his shoulders, recalling back his powers. The room was cooler now with hints of frost growing on the railings and left. The ice on his arm disappeared before he exited the building, not giving the area another glimpse. He was unaware of a large black spider that was watching from above on the ceiling, its webs sticking to the walls. The multiple legs jolted, shifting on the sticky mess. Its fangs twitched before crawling up its home, the several eyes wiggling.

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Hitsugaya stood at the door that led to the main meeting hallway which was used to gather the ten head leaders of the division. It was rare for anyone else to be in there but sometimes the assistants were allowed in. He didn't know why he was here since he had been just called a few moments ago but it seemed important. Plus he wasn't allowed to disobey any orders that had come from his superiors so he went without an argument. Gripping the door knob, he entered, his eyes gazing over the group that was inside the room but what met him left him in surprise. There were only seven people in there not the usual ten and not all of them were the captains. There was the head of the security division, Kenpachi and his assistant, Yachiru, the management leader, Byakuya and his assistant, Renji (the red head gave a nod to him), and the head leader of the cooperation, Yamamoto and his own assistant, Sasakibe. His eyes rested on the seventh person in the room, widening at each second.

"Ichimaru?! What are you doing here?" Hitsugaya almost cried out but kept his voice low enough to pass off as a scold. He remembered the events of yesterday, especially of the kiss and grumbled, heading forward, his emerald eyes not once leaving the older albino.

"Hitsugaya." Yamamoto spoke firmly and with great confidence. His eyes were closed and he seemed tired and old but the sternness of his voice hadn't so much as led up. The ice prince's eyes instantly went to the head leader and nodded in respect, apologizing for his rude behavior. "There's something we'd like to ask of you, Hitsugaya." He paused, turning his gaze to Ichimaru. "And yours as well."

The ice prince's eyes landed back on the grinning man then went to Yamamoto. "And what would that be?"

"We'd like you both to head to the management division area and exterminate a _certain pest_ there. The place has been abandoned for your convenience." The old man opened the closed lids slightly, staring down at the two even though he was leaning over on his cane.

"Please pardon me but what would you like us to get rid of? And why? Plus I don't see why I should to be here." He didn't like the idea of working with Ichimaru but if Yamamoto ordered, there was no way out but he'd like to know what he was getting into first. He kept his displeasure to himself and the tone of his voice normal, not to attract unwanted attitudes.

Renji stepped forward from the crowd, notifying everyone in the room that he was going to speak and glanced down at a sheet of paper he was holding in his hands. "Well, you see, there have been odd things happening around in the management area. At first, it was ignored, thinking it was a prank but it quickly accelerated into other things. Objects had gone missing; things were moving around, some dropping or falling right on top of people's heads. This has sent a few of our employees to the hospital. Lucky, no one has gotten too injured. There has also been other occurrence where people had seen someone bleeding all over the floor, wandering the area. Voices and sounds that shouldn't be there were also heard. There has also been a report where a worker sat down at their desk and felt something cold brush against her legs. When she looked down, a glowing face of a child was sitting there, staring. Another one is where people were talking on the phone when a fuzzy sound, something like static, fills the other side, then screams and cries of pain echoing from the head." Renji paused to take a deep breath, glancing away from the sheet to blink a few times. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow, Renji was talking about the supernatural, something he was very used to. "Theses things have been disturbing the workers constantly, some have even quit, others have taken leave, waiting for things to calm down. Apparently, we have requested the security division to keep watch of the place but they couldn't find anything wrong. There was nothing on the tape even at the time something _was_ happening. So that leads us to now." The red head gazed to the two, Hitsugaya and Ichimaru, with a serious expression. "Someone had commented that it could be a ghost so we thought that someone that was used to these types of situations would be helpful in getting rid of it. Honestly, I don't believe in these things but the captain requested it." Renji stared between the two, his eyes narrowing.

"But." Byakuya spoke, his stoic expression unchanged even for a moment, his voice bland. Everyone twisted to him with silent appearances. "I've seen this…_annoyance_ in my room as well. I didn't bother with it until it started messing with my materials. It's become quite a headache."

Hitsugaya stared at the older man, tightening his eyes. He knew that something was off about the man and had a sense of familiarity, like there was some kind of connection between the two. It didn't matter though since the ice prince had never bothered going up to talk but he couldn't help but feel that something was off about the person. He turned his attention to following along with Byakuya's explanation, pushing the sensations back and nodded. Everything was fine and dandy but there was _one_ thing that still didn't make sense. "I see why you would call Ichimaru since he does this type of…stuff (only the higher-ups know that he deals with the bizarre, he only found out last night)but that still doesn't explain about _me_? I can't do anything towards the…paranormal." He was lying in this part but that was okay, he didn't want to be found out.

A loud clearing of the throat brought everyone's considerations back to the Yamamoto. "He requested that you would keep him company during the time."

The older albino pounced forward, standing in the middle of the room with Hitsugaya. "I could easily handle this case alone but I'd like to have someone I know better with me just incase something unexpected were to happen." Ichimaru beamed, stepping over to Hitsugaya's side, his hand landing on the shoulder. A few of the faces winced, somewhat fearing where this might be going. Everyone knew how much the other irated Hitsugaya.

Yamamoto nodded, not aware of the friction between the two. "Well, you heard him Hitsugaya, you'll be with him. All your work shall go to your assistant and the management division for the time being."

Hitsugaya paled, he would _have_ to stay with the older albino until the case was closed. And not only that, Matsumoto was going to do _his_ work, that was _never_ good. She hardly did shit. Byakuya, on the other had…he's okay, _he hopes_. He mentally groaned and prayed that this was nothing but a nightmare but his wishes were dashed when Ichimaru ruffled his hair, earning a twitch. Yes, things just weren't looking up to him anymore.

Damn.

* * *

I yawn. "Sleepy."

"You should go to bed; it's not right for you to stay up." Drang comments without any expression, looking up from reading his very large book.

"Can't, got to finish this evil Lloyd picture for my 'Black Terror' story on TOS." I moan, placing the paper into the scanner. Presses the button. "Ah, Damnit! It's not working!"

"Don't you remember that you broke it? You over used it in scanning those doujinshis."

"Damnit to hell!"

Drang turns to the audience. "Please review to keep her mind off her troubles; she's a violent woman."

I punched the machine. "Die, you stupid thing!"

Yuan raises an eyebrow. "Very violent."

Reviews:


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**: **The Return**

**By**: Metamorcy

**Rating**: M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra (later too).

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer**: don't own Bleach

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Chapter 4

"So explain to me why _I_ have to be here again?" Hitsugaya scowled, feeling like he was being cornered by the older man even though the guy was on the _other_ side of the room, wandering around. His emerald pools watched him stroll aimlessly along the workplace, peaking into an employee's stuff with a grin. He huffed and scolded when he didn't get an answer, following after the other to make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid.

Ichimaru, at that moment, twisted back and was awed by the adorable expression that was plastered on the ice prince's visage. "Ah, Snowy-chan-"

"Hitsugaya." The younger albino interrupted immediately by habit.

"-you look so cute like that."

Hitsugaya rotated away in argument and to hide his growing blush at the comment. Damn him and his way with words. He snorted; gazing around the empty room, there was nothing wrong with it, nothing out of the ordinary. He couldn't sense any presence or being besides the two of them. Nothing had happened for the past three hours since they have been here. Had it all been a joke? No, it couldn't be, those people, except for Renji, would never joke about something like this, it wasn't in their nature to do so. _Or_ was it some plot to force Hitsugaya to work with the other and make them get along? He growled louder, clenching his fists in rage. The smaller albino spun back to the taller one, who had some white cards in hands, a little bigger than a regular desk one, all gathered neatly at the fingers. There was a strange symbol on it, on both sides, but he wasn't sure what it said. It was in another language, one he didn't recognize at all. "What are those?"

Ichimaru smiled, tossing four them around the room, exactly at the corners where they stuck onto the wall like glue, remaining there. The older albino sat down in someone else's working chair, twirling in it and patted the seat on another chair next to him. Hitsugaya eyed the suspicious man then glimpsed the room rapidly and took the offer, shifting closer to get some answers. "These are talismans; I use them to protect people and things, though, I don't use them like most Onmyoujis do, you know, with the whole chanting and chap but you can call me one if you wish." Ichimaru leaned closer to the other, waving some more in his fingers. "These ones are special; they allow me to cut things with the edges almost like when you use a knife, its kind of fun when you think about it." He beamed, flapping them into space a few rounds, floating in mid-air. "See?"

"Yes." Hitsugaya nodded, relaxing into his seat and sighed. He still didn't feel comfortable in this position but he'll allow it for now. His mind began wondering to the ghost and to the one from yesterday. Wait, yesterday? "Hey, last night, that ghost wouldn't be the same one from that time, would it?"

The taller of the two started shaking his head to the negative, the smile still there. "Nope, it's different. This one seems a little bit stronger, seeing as none of us are able to sense it." Ichimaru shifted closer and leaned over to the younger man. "This building has quite a few of them but most are peaceful, just wandering around and watching. _But_, there are a few here that _are_ dangerous like the one last night and todays. I'm typically asked to take care of those, though, usually, those are harder to track in these situation since they can hide their presence so well, which is fine, its makes it more excitement."

"But that still doesn't explain why _I_ have to be here. I know you could take this thing down with no trouble at all." The ice prince held a strong sternness in his voice, one that was meant for a fight. He narrowed his eyes, staring guardedly at the man, who has been known to mess with people's minds. "I know that you know that I can sense these occurrences but that doesn't mean I can fight back. You've picked the wrong guy for this."

The man grinned, the crescent-shaped eyes curving up. He let out a little devious chuckle, knowing something. "Oh, don't worry; I know what I'm doing. Last night, I _saw_ the ice on your arm and this morning, you were able to attack a ghoul and destroy it. So I thought to myself, it'd be nice to have some back up. Do you see my reason now?" He had this deceitful smile on him as if he had just won something spectacular. Hitsugaya bit his tongue, narrowing his eyes, unable to stop the growl from coming up his throat. He'd been found out, his secrets spilled. Damn. Ichimaru continued on, clearly ignoring the snarl. "Anyway, I just want you to be with me. With you, we could probably draw this thing out."

"Draw it out?" Hitsugaya questioned, blinking his eyes repeatedly, not liking the idea since his stomach was doing a flip-flop. He drew his head away from the man, staring right into the face, trying to identify the albino's plan. "How are we supposed to-"

He was cut off by a pair of soft lips that were urging against his own, the same feeling rushing through his small body and the same touch on him again. Ichimaru deepened it, standing up from his chair, pressing onto the other's body. His fingers glided into the soft white tresses, grabbing a hand full and yanked Hitsugaya forward. The younger albino didn't even notice that he had parted his lip for the man, allowing the tongue to slip in. When Ichimaru yanked back slowly and delicately, out of breath, his smile remained, watching the _charming_ reactions that came next. Hitsugaya instantly blushed, backing away by pushing the Onmyouji at the chest, the seat following him (it's a rolly) and stared at Ichimaru in shock.

But before he managed to do or say anything, a strong demanding presence appeared the split second they separated, the lights flickering hazardously. The existence was heavy as if something was pushing them down, almost like gravity, keeping their feet stuck. Ichimaru didn't seem affected by it and flapped the cards like a fan. "Seems like its here. I guess kissing you worked after all." He grinned, teasing the still blushing ice prince with a humorous tone of voice.

"Why, you! You had this all planned out, didn't you?!" Hitsugaya screamed, completely ignoring the somewhat deadly ghost that was sauntering to him. He grabbed the collars of Ichimaru's shirt, yanking him forward to his eye level, his expression full of burning rage. The chibi let out a loud growl, almost wanting to strangle the still-grinning man. When he _did_ notice the phantom, he grumbled in displeasure, jumping back a few steps to keep distance while his emerald pools observed the flashing ghoul. The ghost was a man, a young one this time with dark green hair that appeared to be spiked up at the end. His eyes were unreadable since it was covered in darkness and blood and the right arm appeared to be twisted in an awkward direction. A low growl from his throat, a few of the objects in the room shuffled as if controlled. Deciding to wait the continuation of the argument till later, he went to Ichimaru's side, tensing up. He noticed the difference in the appearance of this one compared the reports he had scanned through. The ghost didn't have any resemblance to the numerous sightings. "Hey, this doesn't look like any of the ones in the description. It's completely different."

Ichimaru nodded, explaining. "Ah, it appears that this one has the ability to mask itself and its true appearance, making people think that there are more then one. He's quite clever."

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"Think you could use your ice magic on it." It wasn't a question; it was more of a demand. Hitsugaya noticed the change in the tone, Ichimaru was getting serious.

'So he knows about that too. No wait, he already saw me using my magic. But that doesn't explain this morning, is he, perhaps, watching me?' Hitsugaya thought but temporally pushed it away; he didn't have any time to think and called out his magic powers. The room cooled in temperature but not enough to make anyone start shivering. Ice appeared below on the ghost's feet, encasing it thickly. The spirit stopped shifting, the dead eyes glancing down, struggling to get himself free and cried out gruesomely. It started to claw at the air, his body flickering faster along with the lights.

Ichimaru leaned over, his face close enough to the ice prince's ear and whispered tenderly. "Your magic is a little special, isn't it?" His warm breath tickled along Hitsugaya's cheeks and sent a shiver down the ice prince's spine. The younger albino didn't yank himself away, focusing solely on the ghost, trying to ignore the other.

"Yeah, it is. Normal ice magic would have no effect on ghosts since they're able to pass through material objects but mine's different in that sense."

"I know." The taller man snickered.

Ichimaru." Hitsugaya closed his eyes, one of them twitching. His voice was calm but angry and the other sensed it immediately but overlooked it.

"Yes?" He made his voice sound sugary sweet; his breathes dancing against the flesh hotly. Ichimaru drew back a few inches to give the shorter one some personal space and reached into his sleeves, drawing out another piece of paper (apparently the ones he had before had disappeared). It was another one of those talismans but the design on it was different. The words were shaped differently with the ink bright red, almost looking like blood. He flicked back his wrist, sending it flying towards the growl's chest. A blinding white light enveloped the creature upon contact; the papers bursting into flames then disappeared, leaving no evidence behind of either. The only thing left was the ice on the floor that was starting to melt. "Mission complete."

A split second later…

"Ichimaru." Hitsugaya growled, glaring coldly at the other. "_Get_. _Off_."

"Hmm? But I'm too comfortable right now." The older albino purred, somehow during that flash, he had draped his arms around the ice prince's shoulders, pulling the struggling albino closer. He seemed to be hugging the younger, continuing to smile very creepily.

The ice prince snarled, pushing the older man away and headed towards the elevator without a second thought. He paused, twisting back to his crush with an irritated remark and a beet-red face. "I need to go back to work! Report this back to Yamamoto, got that!?" He was so pissed that he had forgotten to ask Ichimaru want he knows on him, leaving when the doors closed with a loud ding.

The older albino sighed but the grin was still there, answering the question even though Hitsugaya was already gone. "Alright, Snowy-chan."

He twisted around to face a slightly opened door at the side, further back in the area. It was a workroom, someone's office and it was covered in dimness, the wooden frame gradually creeping open. "You two can go on home today, thanks for finishing up the rest for me."

The figures, the same ones that had been outside watching Hitsugaya in the obscurity of the streets, stepped out. The one with orange hair had a scowl on his lips, arms folded neatly across his chest. "They were hardly any trouble…so I guess our work is done for today."

The white-haired one snickered, wrapping his arms around the other and licked the neck with his blue tongue, grinding his hips into his partner.

"Stop that, Shirosaki. Now's not the time." The orange-haired one growled, pushing his lover away.

"Aw, come on, king, we done anything for a while." Shirosaki whined, burying his head into the crook of his king's neck. "There's no more work and our only job for today has just been finished. I don't think _she_ would get mad if we took the rest of the day off."

The king let out a deep sigh, leaning into the contact. "Fine, fine, you win." Ichigo allowed Shirosaki to kiss his neck soothingly while tilting his body to the side, his eyes peering out of the corner to look at Ichimaru. "Well then, we'll see you later." He then paused before adding something else in as an afterthought. "You shouldn't lie to him, you know." With that, a dark portal opened beside them with a quiet boom and the two vanished, the orange-haired one waving his left hand weakly.

"Bye-bye." He waved in return then turned to the other guest in the room, who was hiding in the darkness of the ceiling. "You can go too." A woman covered in spiders was sitting in the vents, giggling but afterwards, she crawled away and left. Ichimaru's lips fell, exhaling deeply, remembering Ichigo's words.

"I don't think he would be happy if I told him that there was more than one." He chuckled weakly before walking away.

* * *

"So tell me, why are _you_ still _here_?" Hitsugaya drummed his fingers, he was trying to work on the growing paperwork that seemed to have multiplied from last time, almost four times as much. He glanced to the side where Ichimaru was sitting, (on his desk, the same spot too) swinging his feet back and forth. He was humming; head tilted to the side with that amusing smirk and was wearing a dark blue coat now, a thick and heavy one, something that wasn't normally seen in warm weather. Hitsugaya found it strange since he had just noticed it but said nothing on it.

"Aw, why can't I be here with you?" Ichimaru cooed, stopping his dangling feet. He stood up, strolling over to the side, towering down on the ice prince. Hitsugaya was about to make a snide remark when he let out a startled cry. The onmyouji had lifted the little worker into the air effortlessly in a bridal style, laughing as the younger tried to wiggle out of his strong grip. All the threats and demands were ignored and the older man sat down in Hitsugaya's spot with him on the lap. Holding the younger still, he wrapped his arms around, seizing the struggling albino close.

"Ichimaru, you bastard, let go!" He cried out, tempted to use his magic and freeze the bastard inside and out. His red blush was growing but it wasn't from the normal type, it was from embarrassment and rage.

Ichimaru constricted the grip, burying his face into the soft white locks and sighed, taking in the scent. "You've got nice hair." He proceeded to kiss the cheeks softly, making Hitsugaya's struggling pause. Taking that moment of weakness, he tightened his embrace and made it in such a way that the younger albino couldn't escape. "Why don't you get some rest, Snowy-chan? It'll do you some good."

"But I'm not..." Hitsugaya suddenly felt his eyelids slip, his vision getting a little dizzy and slumped against Ichimaru's arms. "sleepy..." His voice was getting quieter but he _was_ glaring, though weakly at the other. He knew that the onmyouji had done something to him since he wasn't tired before. His eyes dropped further and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep, unable to fight back anymore. The last thing he saw before surrendering over was a real, a really _genuine_ smile, soft and kind on the perverted bastard.

* * *

Hitsugaya stared at the window on the door, watching for anything that would spark interest for the time being. There was nothing much to do here (that was a given) and he wanted to see the other side yet at the same time didn't. He could spot a door outside from the back of his prison and it was the same as his own. The constant screams and wails had died out long ago in this area, there hadn't been any brand new people arriving for a while. Suddenly, he head a door open, the creaking of the large iron hinges and with footsteps coming down. Hitsugaya went to the door, his curiosity getting the better of him and tried to peek through the hole. He jumped up and down and grabbed the iron bar that was strapped in the middle of it, to lift himself up. He saw the two employees that worked here in this asylum waltz pass and in their arms was a man, older then twenty, being dragged away. The man had black hair that went down below a few inches from the shoulder with white ornaments at the top and side of the hair. A scarf, beaten and withered, was draped around the neck and the man had a harden yet empty gaze. Hitsugaya sighed at the sight, it wasn't uncommon to see someone like that, everyone even him had given up on escaping from this hell hole, all except one.

"Yo, Hitsugaya, you awake?" The teasing voice called out.

Defiantly one.

The ice prince dropped down when the group disappeared out of his view and wandered over to the hole. "I'm here."

The voice didn't speak; he had noticed the debility in the other. The man shaked his head and reached into the hole, searching for Hitsugaya's hand. He found it easily since it was basically given and pulled it towards himself. "Hey, Hitsugaya, can I do something?"

The ice prince perceived the seriousness in the voice and leaned in. "Do what?" He suddenly felt something go in-between his fingers and a new feeling, one he had never experienced before, course into his blood. The sensation had felt so _bloody_ good and he felt it again when the wetness moved. "W-What are you doing? Ah!" He cried out when it moved to another spot.

The tongue drew back and the voice spoke teasingly. "Just giving you something else to think about. Now if only these walls weren't in the way, I could probably do something _more_ to you."

Hitsugaya blushed at the thought. 'Something more?!' He shaked his head, he didn't want to think about _that_ now. The sounds of footsteps were getting closer and Hitsugaya retracted his hand instantly in fear and that the other had stopped as well. The ice prince went back to the door, lifting himself up to peak through again. This time he saw someone different. It wasn't the black haired one like before instead this one seemed younger but older than him with bright orange hair. The eyes were closed as if unconscious before they opened instantly, glancing over to his side. The brown pools locked with the emerald pools before disappearing too. He swore that the left eye had been discolored, everything reversed except for the golden orbs in the middle of the blackness. The ice prince tugged back, unable to see anymore and went to his little corner in the back of the dark room, shivering at the thought of what had happened to the two. His eyes went down to his right hand where the voice had been pleasing him. A smile appeared and squeezed the hand tightly to his chest.

* * *

Ichimaru stared down at the sleeping albino with a smug smile. His grip on the boy had relaxed, allowing him to cuddle into the warmth. Scooting the chair up to the desk, he reached over to the paperwork (he got bored and decided to help Hitsugaya in his work), took one glance at it and scolded. The older albino was into the ghost and supernatural business, curses, spells, anything, even summoning, he could deal with it, and if things came down to it, he would fight monsters, zombies, hell even demons from the underworld. He could do anything _but_ this. This, this was an abomination. He stared at the sheets even harder, almost looking like he was going to burn a hole into the paper then sighed in defeat, he couldn't tell what was heads or tails, there was no way he could help on this. Tossing it back down, the hand went up to his chest, cradling something behind his shirt, squeezing it tightly. He spun the chair around, rotating it ninety degrees.

"Hey, Fuse, you there?" Ichimaru called out, wrapping his hand around the small body on his lap. A figure appeared at the corner of the office, walking right through the thick walls. A young woman with a stone-cold expression and medium length dark red hair strolled to his side, the tresses flapping at each movement. She had purple eyes that seemed dark and sinister like his expression and was dressed in a black garb, the sleeves going down to the elbow and got wider like a puffy dress. It covered her hands with the material by ten or more inches. What her hands looked like? Even Ichimaru didn't know.

"I'm here, sir." She spoke with a low voice, full of maturity.

"Do you know how to do this stuff?" He pointed to the paperwork with a grimaced expression while cuddling closer to the bundle in his hands.

The woman stalked over, her head leaning over the things, staring at it. The hair slid over the table, gathering at the bottom, eyes examining over the words. A covered hand reached out, taking one of the documents and silently began working on it.

"Thanks." He sung out, spinning around in the chair some more. His fingers patted the spiky white hair, though delicately as to not wake the ticking bomb. He felt something shuffle in his clothes, at the sleeves and lifted it up, staring into it. A small little fox-like creature peeked its head out from inside, the tiny red eyes curiously blinking. It slithered like a snake, wrapping around his pale hand and squeaked. The creature had the head of a fox but the dark golden body resembled that of a snake except all furry and warm.

"Oh, hey there, Petite." He lowered his hand to touch Hitsugaya's forehead, brushing the misplaced locks aside. "Looky here, what do you think about him?"

The being squealed, gliding to the sleeping albino and stiffed the flesh. Petite started wiggling the end of its tail happily and wrapped itself around the ice prince's neck like some kind of chocker. Ichimaru smiled at this, if the creature was okay with him then maybe there was still a chance. A mumble came from below, the lips muttering out something illegible. Ichimaru just smiled, planting a soft kiss on the forehead.

* * *

I've finally introduced some of the other characters. Yayy!! Also I've decided to raise the rating up to M for later parts in the next few chapters (blood, sex, gore, etc) so, yeah, get prepared :D

Please review

Also if there are any other pairings you want to see, I'll try to add them in. Well, if they fit but I can try.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**: **The Return**

**By**: Metamorcy

**Rating**: M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra (actually do you guys want this pairing in it?)

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer**: don't own Bleach

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Chapter 5

When Hitsugaya woke up, he could still feel the lingering warmth on his flesh. Maybe it was because of the coat that had been drafted over his small body or the sensation of being touched still radiating. His eyes lazily blinked, searching the room for Ichimaru but the older man was no where in sight. As he sat back up, straightening himself, the coat fell off along with something else, flying to the side like a feather. It looked like one of those cards the man had used but there was normal handwriting on it. The ice prince bended over, picking the thing up and examined it closely.

"Hope you had a nice nap, Showy." Hitsugaya muttered, reading the card and turned it over. It had Ichimaru's workplace, number and address and everything else written down, even the specifics of his job. By the looks of it, the place was some sort of antics shop. The ice prince raised an eyebrow at the information. Who the hell works in a shop and as an exorcist? Placing it to the side, he lifted the oversized coat up, inspecting it. He shivered at the sudden coldness and glanced around the room to make sure that no one was watching before using it to cover his body, keeping him warm.

His dream flashed through his head, one image about the man at the beginning came forward. He almost looked like Byakuya, _actually_ exactly, the same hair style and even the facial expression. Hitsugaya shaked his head, it couldn't be…or maybe it was. Then that would probably explain the inexplicable sensations he got around the man. 'Maybe I _should_ ask him about it sometime.'

His emerald pools went over the paperwork once he discerned a note on it, another one of Ichimaru's _famous_ cards. Reaching for it, he read the piece of paper out loud. "The paperwork has been completed for you."

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes at this, not trusting the statement at all and stood up, still keeping the coat on. His emerald pools scanned over the documents and found they had been, _indeed_, completed and correctly too. The ice prince almost fainted at that realization. He had never thought of Ichimaru the type to do such a thing (Fuse was the one that actually did it). Glancing back at the note, he perceived something. 'Is it me or did the words just change?'

The paper now said. "I told you so."

Hoisting an eyebrow higher, he flicked the sheet over, thinking that maybe that was the back, however, it was blank. Strange. As he turned it around, the words had altered again. "Surprised, right?"

Hitsugaya twitched, crumbling the paper in his hands and slammed it into the trashcan. Letting out an irritated snort, he gathered the documents, leaving the coat on the chair and went to submit them. He'll have to thank Ichimaru later for this, perhaps when he's returning that coat.

* * *

"_Do you want to leave this place?" _

_Hitsugaya didn't bother glancing up, thinking that the voice was just an illusion and ignored it. It could very well be a trick from those bastards outside. He stared at the wall blankly, cradling himself together. _

"_Would you like freedom?" The voice asked again, this time coming from behind the iron door. It was a low creepy whisper but loud enough to be heard. A piercing scratchy sound could be perceived, it was as if someone had taken a blackboard and was using their nails against it. Hitsugaya gazed up but saw nothing through the hole except something black and red. "Do you want to live?" _

_The ice prince took a breath, deciding to just go with the flow and finally answered. "Yes."_

* * *

"Okay, so meet me at my store in twenty minutes. Bye." Ichimaru placed down the phone, finishing the _second_ call he had made today. His hands reached to the side, wrapping around a cup on the table, bringing it up to his lips. He was in his living room, inside his house, resting serenely. A knock at the door interrupted that tender moment. Ichimaru glanced up from the cup of tea he was about to sip to the door, surveying it as it opened to reveal Fuse.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked, straightening his back, leaning into the couch. The house they lived in had a store connected to it (though it wasn't big), making it convenient for them to travel between the two places. The shop was filled with antics with a few animals that ran wild in a along the ground. Strangely, they didn't make any noise or disturbances which worked well with him. Fuse worked at the front while he did the services in the back. It made things easier in paying for the bills and what not. Her coming back here meant that there was some job for him. "Is someone here for me?"

She nodded, shifting to the side for a man, probably in the early fifties, to walk in. The male seemed a little unsure especially when he saw that grinning expression, shoulder slumped downward. He started to cold-sweat and shiver, not willing to look at the smiling person.

"Yes, can I help you?" Ichimaru grinned, eyes still closed shut.

"Is this really the place that deals with the supernatural and gets rid of them?" The man asked uncertainly.

"Yes, that's right but it depends on the case. If it's dangerous, I'll take it." He really hated taking the ones where he just had to exorcist the ghost and refused to help unless it interested him or gave a large sum of money.

The person seemed to tremble in his seat once he sat down. "Well, I have a job for you, are you willing to take it?"

The albino tilted his head, a few of the bangs falling. "Like a said before, it depends on the job. Will you please explain it?"

"Well, you see, my name is Walter and I've been working at a park for a long time, watering the plants, taking care of the wildlife there. But suddenly one day, the vegetation started rotting, drying up as if they haven't had water for days. The trees followed as well, even the weeds. The dirt became hard, unusable and then the animals…" He paused for a second, gathering all the information he needed. "The animals either ran away or died. They just fell to the ground from the lifeless trees, dead as a doorknob. I asked the vets about them and they said that the creatures had either been poisoned or severely dehydrated. I thought that maybe something had happened to the water system but nothing was wrong. I even tried to plant some brand new ones but right after I put them into the soil, they started rotting and decaying into a brown dust."

Walter sighed, his head slanting downward. "What's worse is that there's a strange odor in the air. Those that have breathed it for long periods of time have gotten extremely sick, like vomiting and poisoning but once they are out of it, they return to normal. People have also been getting hurt by some of the rotten plants, like trees falling down on them out of nowhere. We tried putting bracers around them but once they're exposed to the air, they rust. Sometimes objects like rocks are thrown but we can't figure out why. At first, we thought it was just a bunch of prankers but then larger objects came like boulders and it became impossible for a normal person to carry it. Twenty people have already been sent to hospital for serious injuries and broken bones. If things get worse, the park will have to shut down and that's why I've come to you for help."

The albino gazed to the ceiling for a second then to his tea. This was really a serious matter; it was rare to find such a treacherous one _this_ bad. Finally, a good one at last. He eyed the man, there was still something else. "Hmm…have you asked someone else to take this job?"

The man flinched. "Y-Yes. Two others but they're a team and in the last two days nothing has been fixed though they don't seem to be effected by the toxic."

"Is that so?" Ichimaru lifted up the tea cup, sipping on it slowly again. He could sense the sprit energy off of the person before him. It had to be pretty powerful if it was able to make an influence on a human this far out. His eyes lifted up a bit, a little of red peeking through, when he intuited something heading towards his house and smiled, his lips widening. "Alright, I'll take the job but I'll be traveling in a group of four."

"F-Four?!" The person exclaimed, more people meant more money being spent. He hesitated in agreeing but since the government was paying this and also being pressured by the sinister gaze, he sighed in defeat. "Alright, I agree but I'll only give the reward to the group that gets rids of the problems."

"Oh good, well then I'll be arriving-" he glanced to the clock, it was 12:15 already, and there was in addition to the matter of waiting for the others to arrive. "-around 1:30 this afternoon."

"Fine, I'll put the money into your deposit after everything has been cleaned up." Walter bowed, standing up and left, more like ran, from the shop. Ichimaru followed soon after, his hands together in the sleeves, leaving the finished cup on the table. He went through a door, entering into the antics area. Fuse was at the receptionist desk, sitting on the chair next to the cash register, flipping through a book. He couldn't see the name of it but his eyes spotted the author, 'Black Terror'. The albino paused, what kind of name is _that_? Shaking his head, he pushed the matter behind, not wanting to know. As he paced forward, the door opened, the bells that hung on top jiggled and in the middle stood Ichimaru's little friend.

"Oh, Snowy, you've come to visit me, how sweet." Ichimaru greeted, waving a hand after tugging it out from the sleeve's hold.

Hitsugaya growled, stomping forward. "It's Hitsugaya and I'm not here to visit you, just to return _this_." He held up the coat the older albino had lent to him and shoved it into the man's chest. He wasn't even going to bother to thank him. "Now good-bye."

Ichimaru grinned, tossing the coat to the side and grabbed the younger one's arm, yanking him back. The ice prince almost let out a startled cry but bit his lips down, twisting to glare at the other. "Now, now, you can't leave just yet. I need you to come with me on a job today."

"What!?"

"That's right and there's no use trying to escape." He sang, waving a finger, releasing Hitsugaya. "And don't worry. Your boss said it was fine."

"You already asked?!" The younger albino felt a headache coming on and groaned, slapping himself in the face. He had fallen for the man's plans _again_. Feeling a little dizzy, he resigned. There was no point in fighting him anymore; he had learned that the hard way. "Whatever, I understand, when do we go?"

"Right after picking up our other set of company. They should be arriving at any moment." As he said that, the door bell jiggled loudly again and a flutter of air entered the room. A few of the objects shifted, the cages dancing around. In the entrance stood a young looking man with bright orange hair and brown eyes. He was a tall and lean person and seemed to have recognizable expression. Hitsugaya blinked, the man was really familiar looking, like he had seen him before from somewhere. But where…Wait…his mind going back to the dream. Ichimaru didn't bother glancing at the ice prince's shocked face, welcoming the other. "Yo, Ichigo. Good timing."

"Really? Well anyway, we were luckily today, it didn't take as long since there was hardly any people in the roads." Ichigo huffed, reaching up to massage his neck and greeted Ichimaru afterward. Soon after, he glanced down at Hitsugaya and blinked. "Hey, I know you."

Hitsugaya let out a short silent gasp, everything coming back to realization.

_This time he saw someone different. It wasn't the black haired one like before instead this one seemed younger but older than him with bright orange hair. The eyes were closed as if unconscious before they opened instantly, glancing over to his side. The brown pools locked with the emerald pools before disappearing too. He swore that the left eye had been discolored, everything reversed except for the golden orbs in the middle of the blackness._

But before the ice prince was able to voice his thoughts, Ichigo beat him to it.

"You're the one I saw at the asylum all those years ago, you were peeking through that little window." The orange-haired man came forward, the brown eyes gawping. "I knew you were familiar, those eyes and cold aura of yours aren't easy to forget. It's much brighter unlike others."

Hitsugaya let out a little gasp; he was _actually_ meeting someone from the same torture place. That just wasn't possible; he had thought that everyone had been killed there. Does that mean that the man in the room beside him could still be alive? His mouth was slightly open, unable to reply, that was, until Ichimaru wrapped his arms around the waist. This action alarmed the younger, struggling in the grasp. "Ichimaru, you perverted bastard, let me go!"

"Nope, you're just too adorable." He lifted Hitsugaya into the air with ease, burying his face into the crook of the neck and smirked, hearing a cry of rage. A blush was growing on the ice prince's cheeks but the hands hadn't moved any further than they were already at.

Ichigo just smiled, shaking his head. "Seems like you found someone to toy with, Ichimaru."

"I know, isn't he cute?" Ichimaru grinned, nudging harder.

"Ichimaru!" The flush grew deeper but he did stop struggling seeing as it was useless, the man was just too strong and slumped into the grip, sighing. Ichimaru noticed this and smiled in victory, cradling the ice prince in his arms.

"Oi, Ichigo." A voice called out from behind the group. Ichigo didn't turn to the new person in the room (neither did Ichimaru), already knowing who it was but the younger albino didn't, he hadn't even hear the guy coming in. Hitsugaya examined the newcomer, Shirosaki, carefully. The person had Ichigo's exact features but the skin and hair were pure white like the hue of snow and the eyes were eccentric. Also, he didn't like the smile that was plastered on the man's face even if it wasn't directed at him. Shirosaki noticed the curious gaze and smirked. "I'm Shiro, short for Shirosaki. This here is-" He pointed to Ichigo while wrapping his arms around the shoulder. "-Ichigo, my lover and other half."

"Nice to meet you." The ice prince replied, wanting to ask about the man's identity but decided not to, there was no need to pry into one's life. He had his own problems and secrets too. "I'm Hitsugaya Toshiro."

Ichigo nodded, unaffected by the extra weight on his frame. Shirosaki took that distracted moment to lick his lips, moistening them and ran his delectable tongue along the bottom of his lover's ear, causing the man to flinch and shudder especially when it went down to the neck. Ichigo growled, yanking his boyfriend off and sighed. "Stop that, now's not the time to play, do it _after_ the assignment."

"Damn." The albino look-alike cursed, kicking the ground in disappointment. He rotated to the two other albinos with a bizarre gleam. "So have you two done it yet?"

"Nope." The onmyouji settled the younger down on the floor and draw some space to give the ice prince air. "Well, as much as I'd like to continue this, we'd better get down to business since we only have thirty minutes left to reach the appointed place. I'll talk about it along the way; I hope you're all prepared for this."

"Sure." Ichigo took a step back while Shirosaki vanished again. Hitsugaya glanced around for him but couldn't spot the white-skinned albino and finally shrugged his shoulder, no longer caring. The orange-haired man detected this and pointed to his chest. "It's a little hard to believe but he's inside me; he wasn't kidding when he said that I'm his other half. It's difficult to explain but you see, he can hide inside him body, kinda like sharing but he pops out whenever he wants too."

"So he lives inside of you?" The orange-haired man nodded, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. The ice prince sighed, and then remembered something. "So why are you here anyway?"

"Well, we work for the 'Midnight Moon', its famous so you should have heard of it." Hitsugaya _had_ heard of it, who hasn't? It was a large organization that gathered people from all over the world. Many of those people were those that had been thrown away by their parents or society or those that had unexplained powers or didn't have a place to return to. The organization basically governs the world's peace, if there is fight between humans and those that have powers, they'll be there to break it up. Not even the police questioned their actions, much less the government or anyone else. They weren't a faction to be underestimated. No one messed with them unless you wanted to die, that's a rule that everyone knew and if anyone got hurt, the members wouldn't hesitate in hunting down the offender like a dog. Though, now that he reflected about it, Hitsugaya has never seen the leader of the group but rumors state that it was a woman with massive beauty, strength and a short temper. By his knowledge, there were a few others that also directed the people but not much information was stated about them. "Well, Ichimaru has a few connections with our group from long ago so when he requested some help for a big assignment, we were chosen and afterwards, we just started working together whenever he needed it. If he called us here, it has to be a hazardous one." Ichigo paused, glimpsing over to the young albino. "Why are _you_ here though? Do you have something that makes you stand out?"

Hitsugaya shrugged, he didn't feel like telling.

"He's called the 'Ice Prince' or 'Prince of Ice'; however you wish to view it." Ichimaru answered with a smile, strolling right past the group and to the front door. The flaps of the clothes fluttered at the movement. "He's the most powerful ice mage user, right below the guardians. His abilities far extend normal ones that wield the same power." With that, the eldest albino exited the shop, escaping into the road before anyone could reply, the grin ever present.

'Guardians?' Hitsugaya questioned for a second and was about to run after the man when Ichigo stopped him.

"I wouldn't worry about him; he's a nice guy in all."

"Like I'm going to believe that." The ice prince narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

The orange-haired man snorted. "You're right; I wouldn't either if I hadn't worked with him for so long. Anyway, we better go after Ichimaru before we lose him."

"I agree."

Fuse flipped another page of her book.

"_We'll be taking the child."_

* * *

"_No, you won't! He's my son, I won't let you!" A female cried out, reaching out to protect her kid. The boy quivered behind her, clutching the hands tightly, afraid of what might happen next. The father was beside the woman, glaring coldly at the people. _

"_Then you leave us no choice but to take him by force." The soldiers stalked forward and the boy closed his eyes in sheer fright. He covered his head in the dress his mother was wearing, hoping that would hide him. A loud scream came from his mother, forcing him to reopen them. They widened upon the sight. His father was on the ground covered in red sticky liquid. The neck was silted apart, eyes budged out, staring into space and had no life in them. He could feel the body temperature dropping and watched as the liquid oozed from the lips and cut. _

_The child glanced up at his mother, observing as her head came clean off. Something warm splattered across his face and hair, dripping down. The head rolled to the side, leaving a trail of thick blood to follow and the body flopped forward dead. A pool of crimson was on the floor surrounding him on all sides, growing wider at each passing second. The faces of the soldiers were all black but the smiles could be seen cutting through. _

_Hitsugaya could only stare at his blood-soaked hands and scream in terror._

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Well there goes this chapter. I placed some of Hitsugaya's past in here since there were no dreams in this one. There were only two and should be easy to stop. Hope you enjoyed it.

Hey, I was wondering if you guys would like a side story thingy, one telling of Ichigo and Shirosaki's past, if you do, please put it in the review or message me. Also, do any of you want the pairing GrimmjowXUlquiorra? I'm not sure if I want to put it in or not, so like before, if you want to see this pairing, put it in the review or message me. Damn, I hate repeating myself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** I had rushed in this so I don't think its as good as the other chapters so I might one day come back and fix this when I get the time.

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Chapter 6

"So this is the place." Ichigo huffed, his brown pools glancing around the large park. "Wow, this 'Walter' fellow wasn't kidding, everything here is just rotting away. And the air smells _horrible_."

The area was covered in dead withering trees and grass, the earth was barren with no life in sight. Brown leaves were scattered endlessly across the place and even the sidewalk was crack and crumpled. Everything was quiet since there was no one around, not even the wind blew here. The air was so dense that a person could probably cut through it with a knife but was thin enough to see. Hitsugaya covered his mouth with his sleeve, feeling the effects of this place on his body. It was no wonder they had pleaded for help, it was terrible. A few of the branches from the trees collapsed close to him, startling the poor albino. Ichimaru was beside him, no smile on his face before plastering it on, heading in, examining the place closer. His senses could pick up two ghostly presences, wandering aimlessly in the area and another was standing still but he couldn't locate that one. Its power was preventing him from doing so. At least the moving one wasn't aware of their presence yet since they were in its territory instead it seemed to be more occupied with something else. There were also two people somewhere in the park and their aura felt familiar to him. Hitsugaya stepped forward, Ichigo close behind him (Shirosaki was hiding in the soul again). Rotating back, his emerald pools went to the one man with all the answers. "Well, what are we going to do?"

"We should gather information on our surroundings and see if we can spot anything out of the ordinary, well, beside all of _this_. Anyway, let's go our separate ways to make things faster and also, there's a little ghost strolling around, its dangerous so don't meet up with it." Ichimaru observed as Ichigo nodded, heading off to investigate and twirled to the other. He skipped over glidingly to the spot with a scary smile. Hitsugaya frowned, wondering what the guy wanted. "Here."

Hitsugaya blinked questionably, gazing down to the empty outstretched hand. He shrugged his shoulders and reached out, placing his own close. Something crawled out from the large white sleeves, wrapping around his limb and instantly draw back at the touch. It looked like a snake but furry and squeaked cutely. He could feel the beast slithering inside his clothes, making him squirm at the tickles. When Petite came up to his neck, the creature wrapped around it and relaxed. A snicker came from Ichimaru, a hand on his lips to cover it. The younger albino paused; the laugh he had just heard had been real. It wasn't like the teasing or humorous one; it was one that the older man probably _never_ used. His mind deemed it pleasant, forgetting around the beast.

"That's Petite; he'll be traveling with you." Ichimaru announced after calming down. "He's really friendly and will protect you when I'm not around."

Hitsugaya took this as a sign of weakness. "I'm not so weak that I have to be protected like this. I can handle things on my own."

Ichimaru just patted the white hair but he was serious, the ice prince froze at it. "That may be true but think of it as extra protection. I'm able to cast spells over myself. Ichigo and Shiro can use some special magic to fend anything off but you on the other hand, can't do anything of that sort besides using the cold to warn people off. That usually works in many cases but this one wouldn't be affected, instead it'll be more drawn." The tone suddenly got lighter as if it had done a one-eighty. "Now then, bye!"

Ichimaru ran off down a different pathway and disappeared behind the numerous branches and twigs. The ice prince reached up to pet Petite on the head and smile when the creature purred, looks like he wasn't so bad. Perhaps a nice set of company would be wonderful. Heading off, he ventured the place, keeping himself away from the ghost and out of sight (he could feel it too but not as good as Ichimaru). There was nothing really strange other than the area that surrounded him. Coming up to a spot, his eyes rested on a single tree, strangely different that the rest and felt nebulous. The tree was more alive then the others, a few green leaves on it and had a bizarre aura on it. Strolling up to the truck, he patted the bark vigilantly, thinking that it was insidious.

"What's a kid doing out here?" A rough voice called out from behind. The ice prince flinched, spinning around, he hadn't sensed anyone coming. He was greeted with a rough-looking man with teal-colored hair and pools. There was some kind of blue shadow underneath the eyes, sticking out at the ends. The hair was short but spiky with three bangs in front of the face, hanging limply. The man was wearing a white tank top, showing off all the muscles through it, and black jeans.

"Who-" Hitsugaya begun only to be cut off by the other.

"Hey, answer the question, kid! What the fuck are you doing here?" The man sneered, stalking forward, his height towering down on the shorter one, Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes and meet the man head on.

"I don't need to answer that for you. Why don't you go and pester someone else, I've got work to do." He growled, rotating back to the tree but when a fist came mashing beside his head, his eyes widened slightly. He hadn't been suspecting such a violent behavior though the guy did appear the type. 'Maybe he's one of that team Walter hired?'

"Well aren't you the little punk. Brave words, kid." The man grabbed the small shoulders brutally and spun the albino around, slamming his back against the tree. "Now listen well, bastard. Don't. Mess. With. Me."

Hitsugaya's eyes constricted even further, the eyebrows slanting. This man had not only insulted him (by calling him a kid) but also touched him. He sneered, gripping the offending hand that kept him still and squeezed painfully. The man hopped back the instant he felt a cold icy rush shivering down the arm. His teal-colored eyes glanced down and growled irately, his whole limb was covered in ice.

"Why you?!" He raised his free fist, ready to punch the living daylights out of the short boy when something suddenly caught his hand. "Now what?!"

"I'm afraid that hurting my employee isn't allowed, _Grimmjow_." A silky smooth voice whispered into the ear but there was a dangerous warning in the tone, one that wouldn't hesitate in killing. Grimmjow tensed up, recognizing the speaker as he twisted to him but in the end, he stomped off with anger, shattering the ice on him.

"I'll get you for this, you bastard." The man sneered, still heading away, sticking up his middle finger at the two.

Ichimaru kneeled down after Grimmjow was no longer in his vision, petting the hair tenderly, only to be swatted away. "Now, now, you don't have to be so mean. I just saved you."

The younger albino huffed, stalking away after calming himself. "I don't need your help; I'm fine as it is."

"Ya don't have to be so defensive about me." Ichimaru purred into the ears and was rewarded with a shiver. His arms wrapped around the shoulders, dragging the ice prince in and licked the lob seductively. A hushed moan came from Hitsugaya's lips, the warm breath hitching.

The younger was about to lean in, to let Ichimaru do whatever he wanted to do, to feel the warmth of the other and for the taste but his pride wouldn't let him. He wasn't going to submit so _easily_. The smaller albino leaped to the side, trying to catch his breath and untangled himself from the arms. His eyes caught a glimpse of a surprised expression but he thought that his eyes were merely playing a trick on him; Ichimaru never expressed anything except for that blasted smile. Before taking another look, Hitsugaya ran off to the opposite direction, hoping to get away before anything else could happen, he was faintly aware that Ichimaru was calling out from behind. He didn't care, no; he didn't _want_ to care, not about him.

That struggle, however, ended immediately when he felt something surrounding him. He examined the area with curiosity, eyes going wide. He was…in water? Hitsugaya frayed his arms wildly, trying to search for something. It didn't make any sense, he had been in the park and now water? Something didn't make sense. His emerald pools glanced below him, more liquid but darker and he felt the air being compressed inside his lungs, requiring release. He couldn't move, everything was so tight and when the bubble of carbon slipped through his lips, the pressure of no oxygen was hurting his chest. His mind began to panic, fearing that this could be the end. Gazing back down, black vines were wrapping around his kicking limbs, pulling him deeper into the abyss. Without thinking, his thoughts screamed for the only person that could save him. '_Ichimaru_!!'

A light came from around him, Petite suddenly coming from the sleeves glowing. The water vanished in the luminosity and Hitsugaya could see the faded sunlight dazzling down on his features, lying on his back.

"Snowy!" A voice called out to him. "Wake up!"

The eyes widened, ruby red ones were staring down at him in worry. 'So that's what the color is…' He was staring at Ichimaru's _real_ eyes; he felt happiness wash over him and smiled lightly. "Ichimaru…"

"Oh thank god, you're alright." A sigh of relief came from the older albino, the eyes still open. He pulled back, cradling him protectively, burying his face into the white hair. Hitsugaya continued to stare at the eyes and no matter how hard he wanted to look away it wasn't possible. Plus he was wet, soaked to the bone by that illusion. "Snowy, are you okay?"

"It's Hitsugaya." The ice prince muttered softly by habit, pressing himself against the warmth. For the first time, he didn't want to let go of the other and dropped his arms securely around the body. Ichimaru took this action by surprise, gazing down at the other.

"What's wrong?"

"Its nothing, just let me stay like this for a while longer." Hitsugaya nuzzled into the chest; right now he was trying to sort out his own feelings towards the older man and finally came to a solution. His head pulled back and stared into the ruby red ones some more. He could feel the presence of Petite around his neck, whimpering in worry. The older albino huffed it, taking the embrace, watching curiously, he had never seen this side of the other before. It interested him. He glanced away when he heard a set of footsteps coming his way and recognized the orange hair and took a hand off to wave.

Ichigo slowed his pace, bending over to view the two. He raised an eyebrow at the position but said nothing on it. "He alright?"

"Yeah, the sprit took him into a dream. It shook him up a bit but I managed to destroy it while Petite was protecting him. Also, I've found where the source is at."

Ichigo leaned further. "Where?"

"It's that tree." He pointed to the one Hitsugaya had been standing at. "Apparently, it's absorbing away the nutrients in the area. Normal people can't tell that that's not an ordinary tree."

Ichigo nodded, running off to the spot while Ichimaru persisted in holding Hitsugaya tenderly and peaked the forehead with a smile. The emerald pools were still on him. "Come on, tell me what's wrong?"

A deep blush burned on Hitsugaya's cheeks and he leaned up, lastly giving in and captured the opposing lips. He twitched a little, unused at doing such things so it was sloppy but continued to cling on. Ichimaru froze by the sudden response, if there was one thing he hadn't been expecting, _this was it_. He quickly composed his mind and beating heart to respond back, lowering his head and lifting up his hands to press the younger albino closer. He didn't much of a taste before they separated. Hitsugaya couldn't look up at the face any longer even with those _closed_ red eyes staring at him.

A few silent moments passed. No one spoke to each other.

Ichimaru asked quietly, breaking it at last. "Since when?"

At first Hitsugaya didn't reply then finally answered. "Long time ago."

"I see." The older man could have said something else when the ground started to rumble. The two jumped up instantly at it, an earthquake was uncommon in this area so it wasn't possible.

"What's going on?!" Hitsugaya cried out, trying to hold his balance, his fingers wrapping around the other. The ice prince didn't get a chance to retort since Ichimaru was already explaining it as the shaking stopped.

"That damn sprit is angry, Ichigo must have attacked it but he hasn't killed it off. He must have gotten some interference." The Onmyouji dragged the younger off and stopped at the scene in front. There was the cursed tree with Ichigo and Shiro before it along with two others, fighting some vines that were sprouting from the ground. They swung around, defending the base and prevented anyone from getting too close. He let go of Hitsugaya's hand and brought out a few cards from his sleeves, chanting a quick spell. When he threw them forward, the papers vanished with lighting appearing in its place, striking down the well-protected tree. Ichimaru momentarily turned to the other with a commanding voice. "Hey, Snowy, do you think you could freeze the entire land?"

The ice prince nodded his head, slamming the palm of his hand on the ground. Ice formed, quickly spreading outward from the circle. Within a second, the entire field was covered even the trees and rocks, everything it touched was encased. The fighting halted, the lovers jumping up onto one of the trees while other pair, Hitsugaya recognizing one of them as Grimmjow, did the same.

"Guess _she_ sent you here too." Ichimaru whispered, raising an eyebrow at them. Both teams were hardly hurt especially the couple. Hitsugaya had to say with all honesty that the two from the Midnight Moon were incredibly strong. He knew when he was overpowered.

"We're not going to let you take all the glory from us!" Grimmjow grumbled rudely at everyone, jumping up, raising his fist. The other guy just sighed; he had dark hair, almost black with green eyes where the pupils were slit. Below the eyes were tear-like drops that ran down, green too and his skin was as pale as Shirosaki's.

"Grimmjow, stop." The calmer of the two stated without any emotion. "We've lost, don't make it any worse."

"Ulquiorra!" The teal-haired man yelled back, his fist squeezing harder, ready to fight.

"How about this?" Hitsugaya scouted between the two sides, ignoring the tree for the moment. "We can all say that we worked together on this, wouldn't that be better?"

"Then we'd get less of the reward!"

"Better some then none, right?" He held a stern stare, one that was unwilling to back down.

Ulquiorra stepped forward, right in front of the raging Grimmjow, cutting off any argument. "We'll agree to that."

"Hey, don't make decisions for me!"

That was ignored as the two shook hands and turned their attention to the present target. Ichigo, Shiro and Ichimaru did the same, ready to destroy the enemy and since the ground was covered with ice, it was unable to call any help from the earth.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's kill this son of a bitch." Shirosaki sneered, dashing ahead with a white sword in hand. Ichigo sighed, following behind, his hand holding the opposite color of Shirosaki's blade, black. Ichimaru surrounded himself with the cards, making a quick movement of his hand and the tree was sliced in two, right down the middle. The two swordsmen made a slash from the upper right corner to the bottom left while the other made one the opposite. Ulquiorra sent a purple beam from his hand, cutting the timber at the side while Hitsugaya froze it, preventing it from doing anymore damage.

Grimmjow just grumbled in the back, kicking a block of ice with his feet.

* * *

The day ended with little trouble, each grouping going their separate ways after getting paid (Walter wasn't very happy about that). Ulquiorra and Grimmjow headed off along with Ichigo, who wanted to head home, Shirosaki was pestering in that. Hitsugaya and Ichimaru were strolling down the road, the setting sun on their backs.

"So what do you think about Kitty and Stone-face?" Ichimaru asked suddenly, wobbling side to side playfully.

"Kitty and Stone-face? Oh, you mean, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra? Well, they seem a _little_ strange."

"Really? That's good cause you see, those two are high-level demons." Hitsugaya glanced to him in surprise. "They escaped from the underworld long ago and work under a woman named Silrin; you might meet her later on but I'm not sure when. The woman is really creepy, much more than me. If you've ever watched 'The Grudged', the scary woman with the long hair is her except dressed in black."

"Who is she exactly though?"

"I'll tell you later on when you actually meet her. It's too complicated right now and I want nothing but sleep." Ichimaru smirked, chuckling smoothly. "So," He started after a few moments of silence. "Are you going to become my lover, especially after _that_?"

A snort came from the ice prince. "In your dreams, Ichimaru."

"Aww."

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Done. Hopefully I can't work faster but I'm just slow. At least I'm actually posting still.

Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** Sorry, this one is a little short

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Chapter 7

"How did I get into this again?" Hitsugaya growled, glaring coldly at Ichimaru, who was humming cheerfully like nothing was wrong. Once again, he has been taken out of his workplace, asked, more like forced, to help the older man without his consent. And his boss agreed with it too! For once, he felt like killing the old man for letting this happen, couldn't they tell that he didn't want to go? Or was Ichimaru important client to them? Or were they too scared to argue back cause the guy could do that with one word. He sighed in defeat, knowing that the man was soooo convincing.

Hitsugaya gazed at the sky, it was another sunny day, the heat was over a hundred degrees and everyone felt like they were literally melting. Even the ice prince could feel it, so did the people and animals he passed by, all except for one man, Ichimaru. There wasn't a _single_ bead of sweat on his forehead, the smile still in place. He cursed the man mentally, slugging along the road where the waves of illusions greeted him. Why the hell couldn't they have taken a taxi or maybe a bus? It would be so much better than walking.

"We're almost there." Ichimaru chirped, his hands inside the sleeves, hiding them. How te man managed to go outside in those clothes, he'll never know. They continued to walk, the sun on their heads and backs and was finally coming up to a shop that was less then a few feet away.

"So why are we going there anyway?" The younger albino questioned, examining over the building. It was an old one by the looks of it; connected to other structure something like Ichimaru's but the paint was dark and appeared to be selling a different type of items than he did.

"These people sell mostly materials and ingredients, kind of like food but more for potions and spells. It's kinda hard to explain but whatever you need, they have even the ones that can only be gotten in the deepest pits of the underworld or from the most dangerous monsters."

"Then what _do_ we need?"

"Well, I don't really need anything, the owner called me today, asking if I could come over and get something and to bring you as well." The older albino grinned, scratching the left side of his cheek.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "Wait, how does she _know_ I'm with you?"

"Either Kitty or Stone-face told her or she just knows. But I do believe that Silrin, the head owner, can see into the future and know things before anyone else do. So if she wants you come along, I've got no choice but to do so. Whatever she wants to say or do, it'll be helpful later on, trust me on this."

The emerald-eyed man raised the other eyebrow to complete the action. "You do realize that I don't trust as far as I can throw you, which allow me to tell you I can't do."

"Ahh!! You can trust me!" Ichimaru pouted, turning to the shortest. He opened the door to the store and entered second, allowing Hitsugaya to go ahead.

The ice prince ignored him, glancing around the place. The coolness of the room hit his face and let out a sigh of relief, no longer in the scotching temperature. There were lines of items, all different and most seemed normal or as _normal_ they could get. He read two of the labels. "Frog legs. Frog eyes." Lifting up the jar that contained the eyes, he stared at it, watching the little white balls float in the gooey green liquid.

A sudden shiver ran down his spine, unexpectedly feeling someone's eyes (not the frog's) on him but when he glimpsed around, there were no one in the area, not even the receptionist. Ichimaru was standing to the side, gazing off at something below, probably an item. Shrugging off the sensation as it disappeared, he took that time to peer down the aisles, wondering what else he could find. There were some boxes here and there with a vase or two. A large lamp was on one side that was shimmering a bright orange flame in the middle; a sting covered in oil, where the fire was located at, continued to burn. In another aisle, there were more ingredients but it appeared to be candy and sugar items. He picked one up and stared at it. "Bubblegum…?"

"You want it?"

A voice whispered into his ear gently, earning a jolt from the ice prince, who instantly went on guard. He was about to call out his ice magic to kill the intruder when he hesitated, biting down on his bottom lip. He was in a public place and the person before him appeared ordinary though he hadn't even sensed her _coming_, much less near him like that. It was the first time someone had managed to startle him so much, well besides Ichimaru but he was an exception. His emerald pools stared at the person, who was standing still beside him with a calm look. It was girl, a little taller than him, which he hated to mention, with long black hair that fell to her ankles. Dark strains covered her head except for a slit that showed her face or parts of it. Her visage was extremely pale, almost pure white and had violet eyes that glowed from the abyss of the hair. Her lips were rosy red and small like her nose but it seemed to fit her well. She was clothed in a black dress that covered most of her body with frills around the edges. A net was casted over the bottom portion with little designs that appeared to be roses layering the entire garb. Her shoes were a little odd; it was like those one dolls wore, all black and stiff. In her hands was a doll, a big one with shoulder-length blond hair, eyes hidden. It was a guy with a black cape hiding the rest of the body with only the hands being visible, which appeared to be claws.

"Well?" She tilted her head to the side, the bangs shifting with her.

"No, I'm fine." He spoke, taking a deep breath. 'Guess this must be Silrin, she really _is_ as creepy as Ichimaru said.'

"Good." Silrin said emotionlessly and turned to the older man in the room. Hitsugaya couldn't help but let out a little "Huh" at the response.

Ichimaru waved over to them, still grinning. "Oh, didn't see you there, Silrin. How have you been?"

"Fine."

"So, why did you want us to come today?"

"This way." She spoke calmly, ignoring the question, heading over to the back area and opened a door, leading them to another room. They followed; neither of them knowing what was going on. Inside the place were two couches with a table in the center of them. Silrin sat down at one side while the two on the other, staring at her with suspicion. She placed her doll beside her, laying it neatly and folded her legs, hands in the lap. "Well, I'd like to give Hitsugaya something that'll be handy in the future."

"And what would that be?" The ice prince asked, narrowing his eyes.

"These." She opened the palm of her hand, revealing a red flame and a blue one, fluttering in mid-air. "I got this from two worlds, one by a friend and the other by myself. The blue one was from a demon prince and a human in the underworld 1 while the other is from two students 2. They're the same people but different in each place. I won't go into the details of it and neither will Ichimaru since he does not know much about these things. Anyway, the flames are based off of emotions, mostly love. We just absorbed it from the surroundings and from inside the people, it was quiet easy to get, just needed to find the right couple." Her voice was soft yet emotionless, her lips hardly moving. The two lights swiftly combined together into a purple one, it was larger than the two, still floating an inch above the skin. "Anyway, this is for you. You'll be needing this later on since something horrible is making its way back to you."

"Is that all you can tell us?" Ichimaru asked, folding his arms. "Can't you tell us about this 'horrible' thing?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I can't really tell you everything that will happen, it's against the rules for me but I can at least help you get out safely." She nodded her head, bringing the purple flame to Hitsugaya's chest. Before he was able to react, it entered his body, him glowing lightly before going back to normal. He gasped in shock and shuttered for a moment, feeling something rise in his body and then vanish. "You won't be able to notice it until later. And now for you, Ichimaru."

She grabbed something behind the couch, pulling out a box. It was small with a lock keeping the thing together. Green words written in a different language was all over it, covering the purple wood. Ichimaru took it carefully, eyeing it and almost tried to open the thing when Silrin stopped him.

"Please don't open it until you're alone. You'll know what to do with it once you do." She stood up, pulling the rims of her dress down then sat back into her previous position. Hitsugaya glanced curiously at the box before turning to the opposite couch and noticed something off. The girl was there…but not the _doll_. He blinked his eyes, rubbing them for a second, wondering if he was just seeing things and glared at the spot. There was nothing in that spot, it really _was_ gone.

"Um…" He muttered cautiously, glimpsing around the room. "Where's your doll?"

Silrin's violet pools watched him before lifting up a hand to point. He followed the direction and almost let out a start, shifting back. The doll was on the stand to his left, staring at them through the bangs. She got up, taking the toy back with her thin fingers and placed it on her lap when she sat down, holding it tightly. Her lavender pools were on the doll, as if scolding. "How many times have I told you not to wonder off like that? You scare people when you do that."

'No duh…' Hitsugaya thought to himself, gazing away. He _really_ didn't want to know anything about the doll; it was creepy enough without knowing what it was. To change the topic and get his mind off of it, he asked about the two demons from before. "Hey, don't Grimmjow and Ulquiorra work here too?"

Ichimaru had his lips up in a smile, not affected by anything that was happening and Hitsugaya swore that it was a permanent feature.

"Oh, yes, they're in bed right now after some…activities…" She suddenly smiled at the information, the first emotion the ice prince had seen. The two albinos instantly got it what she meant and glanced to each other. The owner was one of those fangirls. "Well, I bet you're curious about them. Allow me to enlighten you with the short version. They used to work in the underworld for some snotty bastards, doing the dirty work and finally escaped to the mortal realm. I took them in, gave them a place to stay and work here for a living. I don't really mind since I usually need someone to take care of the building whenever I'm busy."

'Busy? Really? You don't look like it right now.' Hitsugaya sneered as a thought.

"I may not look like I am busy, seeing as I'm just sitting here, but I had to cancel some appointments to do this. People like to come here for future reading and wishes, some want those materials that can only be gotten if you get killed or something. Other times it's a pain especially when they come in without an engagement." She sighed, clutching her doll. Silrin glanced down at it and reached up to her face, flicking a strain of hair to the side. "Oh, that's right; I haven't introduced you my doll yet. This is Night; he's my main doll I take around with me and my guardian."

Hitsugaya could only nod, not sure what to say. 'Guardian? The hell…?'

A bell suddenly rang in the room and Silrin didn't flinch from it. Another door, opposite of the one they had come in, opened, revealing Ichigo and Shirosaki, who trotted in. Shirosaki's arms were drapped around the orange-haired man's shoulder, slugging him closer while the other had a scowl on him, trying to push the albino away. The couple glanced over to the occupants and waved half-heartedly (well Ichigo did). "Oh, you're here too?"

"Right on time." Silrin reached into her sleeves, which were as puffy as Ichimaru's and pulled out a large sword that was five feet long and two feet wide. Hitsugaya just gaped, wondering on how _that_ had fit in there, it just wasn't possible, actually let him restate that, it _wasn't_ possible. Ichimaru tapped him on the shoulder, mouthing 'Magic'. She handed it over to the lovers before going to the pair of albinos. "I think you should leave now. The stuff I'll be talking to them about can't be heard by you."

"Alright then, thanks for everything." Ichimaru stood up, snatching the ice prince with him and dragged the younger out the door. They were back outside in the heat when he finally let go, placing his hands into the sleeves. Hitsugaya silently groaned, the sun beaming on his body, he was called the ice prince for a reason, that didn't mean stuff him out into the heat until he melted into a puddle of water (which won't happen but he's over- exaggerating). Ichimaru could only smile, adding to the other's misery. "Now, we have to track back in this scorching heat."

"Yeah and you don't even look worried." Hitsugaya huffed, storming off so he could get back to work. He had those papers to finish and soon, he didn't have any confidence that Matsumoto to do that. Calling for a taxi, he hopped in, disregarding the complaining man behind and rode off. Ichimaru watched as the yellow vehicle went away, the smile never leaving his face.

"You better be careful, Snowy. Silrin is _never_ wrong."

* * *

Ah, sorry for the shortness of this one. Do I sense foreshadowing…hehehe.

1- That would be from my 'Demonic' story

2- That would be from my 'Session' story

Please review. I beg of you!


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M (cux there will be sex later on)

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** Okay, managed to finish my homework for you guys in order to do this chapter. Yay! I'm trying to finish this fanfic up or part of it so I can start Ichigo's and Shiro's one-shot (not a multi-chapter one cuz I don't think I can take any more of those). Hope you enjoy this one.

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Chapter 8

It was now or never, Hitsugaya knew that. He stared at the door to the Management division with a calm expression. Taking a deep breath, he pushed them open; feeling a gust of wind created by the air conditioners blow onto him and examined the work area. People were at the desks, all busy with their own things and with phone calls. They were all talking; it was so loud that you couldn't even hear yourself think. It was also quite a mess too and yet organized at the same time. No one was over-stressed or over-worked, they seemed relaxed (maybe knowing that that ghost was now gone). Everyone continued on with their jobs, not noticing the newcomer, all except for one.

"Oh, Hitsugaya, what are you doing here?" It was Renji, the subordinate and vice-captain of this place. The red head stared at him curiously, having never seen him out of his office except at home.

The albino twisted to him, green eyes gazing calculatingly. He had to look up since he only came to Renji's chest, which he hated to mention. His voice held the strict and demanding tone he used to everyone, eyes drifting towards the room in the back that obviously belonged to the leader of this division. "Is Byakuya Kuchiki here?"

The red head tilted his head and lifted an eyebrow. Why would Hitsugaya want with the captain? They never talked before and never gave the impression of being friends or at least sociable ones. So why? It was a question that was running through his mind but pushed it away. He had no right to question someone else like that especially a higher-up. His eyes stared sternly down at the leader of Project department. "Yes, he's here. Do you need to speak to him?"

"Yes, but I can always come back at a better time if he's busy. I _did_ come here without making an appointment."

Renji shaked his right hand, swatting the comment off. "Its fine, we're actually pretty free today for some odd reason. After we got Ichimaru and you to get rid of that little _problem_, we were backed up with jobs for two days. Somehow and miraculously, we managed to get everyone to work overtime and finish everything ahead of time." He took a step back and rotated, motioning the other to follow. "How did you get rid of it though? Ichimaru just kept that weird smile on and said that it was done, that's it. If you tell me, he's a little eccentric."

"A little is an underestimated. He's just plain bizarre and about how." Hitsugaya thought out his words carefully, he didn't want to say any unnecessary things. "I'm not really sure myself. I didn't do anything, Ichimaru did all the work. He appeared to know what he was doing and well too."

"That's too bad; I'd really like to know. Everyone else here too."

They arrived outside of the area that held Byakuya, the name tag hanging neatly on the door. The walls were made of glass so one could peer through but there were curtains covering it, preventing that. Renji stepped forward, knocking on the wooden frame gently, waiting for a respond. A voice called out from behind the timber, deep and emotionless. "Come in."

Renji nodded to Hitsugaya as he strode in first, hand on the doorknob. The ice prince remained outside, leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for entry. The red head bowed to the man inside and closed the door shut. A few of the workers noticed his abrupt appearance and gazed towards his direction in inquisitiveness. Hitsugaya ignored it, shutting his eyes, concentrating on something else. It didn't take long before everyone grew tired of him and went back to work. He felt a shuffle in his clothes and growled quietly, patting a spot on his shirt. "Hey, stop that."

A squeak came next and more wiggling, the creature relocating up the top. The soft fur tickled against his skin and almost let out a yelp but held his tongue and movement. Petite poked his snake-like head out, the small eyes blinking at Hitsugaya's glowering face. Upon discovering the expression, he shrank back inside, shambling around until he began to irate the ice prince. Hitsugaya had wanted to give the creature back to Ichimaru but it seemed like Petite had taken a liking to him. The creature had attached himself around his neck, not wanting to let go no matter how hard he pulled. The albino glanced around the room, it looked that people that weren't like him and couldn't see the creature, which was fine with him, he didn't need anything else to draw their attention towards him. Petite nested in his sleeve, curling around his arm and fell asleep, rubbing his head along the skin. Hitsugaya reached up, stroking the spot gently, trying to make it look like he was just straightening his clothes.

The door opened up, Renji stepping out. "He'll see you now."

Hitsugaya pushed himself away from the wall. "Thank you." He edged around the red head, entering inside with a tranquil air. He spotted the man he needed to talk to at the desk, staring at him with that cold visage. The ice prince instantly went to the chair that was provided in front and sat down.

"Renji." He motioned to the red head, who was still inside the room. "Could you please leave, I'd like to talk to Kuchiki _alone_."

The older man with black hair blinked his eyes and waved Renji off, waiting to talk until the door was fully closed. He rolled to the other. "Yes? Do you want something?"

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Hitsugaya inquired, staring directly at the man as if the expression was in a permanent feature.

Byakuya didn't seem to mind. "Go ahead."

The albino paused a bit, taking a deep breath, his old memories resurfacing. "Seven years ago…do you remember an asylum run by Kurotshuchi and his daughter, Nemu? A place where people weren't treated like humans and more like an experiment?"

He watched carefully to spot any weakness in the man's strong face but nothing changed. The thin line remained normal except when he answered. "Yes, that's right."

"Were you one of the test subjects there?"

The reply for this one took longer; a deep silence, apart from the noise outside, enveloped the room. "…Yes." Another stillness then Byakuya spoke again. "You were there, I presume. That would be the only way you would have known besides being one of the doctors but you would have been too young at that time."

"That's right, I saw you through the window one day. I came here just to make sure. Sorry for taking up your time and bringing up old and perhaps unwanted memories." Hitsugaya was about to stand to leave when the older man stopped him.

"Wait, stay longer; I'd like to ask you something as well."

The ice prince settled down and got comfortable, bringing his hand up to his lap. Byakuya leaned back in his chair, his eyes glancing over to two picture frames but Hitsugaya didn't know what he saw. He was waiting for the question and remained still.

Finally, it was solicited. "How did you get taken there?"

It was a painful question; the ice prince flinched at those words. Slowly, he responded with a softer voice, not the one he usually used. "I don't really remember all of it but I used to live with my parents before I was taken away. I had a grandmother; she was the closest one to me and was more of a family than anyone else. Anyway, as they took me away, they killed my family in front of me. I had to watch as everyone precious to me took their last breaths and was unable to do a thing to stop it from happening. I don't truly remember what they look like anymore or anything about my old house, I was only eleven at that time. Then I was in the asylum for a year, suffering just like you." Hitsugaya sighed, glancing up to the ceiling. He had revealed some of his past, something he never in reality wanted to talk about. It was only fair to ask the same to the other. "What about you? How'd they get you?"

"They broke into my house when I was twenty-one, killed my wife and my sister-in-law before me. Then they dragged me off to stay at that horror hell for about the same amount of time as you. I had given up on all hope since I too had lost everything that was valuable to me. They wanted my powers but even I don't know how to control them that well." He reached forward, twisting the framed pictures around, a different female in each one. They both looked the same, the hair style and eyes. "My wife and sister-in-law."

"I see." Hitsugaya closed his eyes, there wasn't much left to talk now and the time they had was limited. He remembered the card that Ichimaru had left him not too long ago. Digging it out, the item fluttered into his hands and outstretched it to the other. "Here, take this. If you get into any trouble just go there or maybe go to the Midnight Moon gang and look for a man named Ichigo Kurosaki. He too went to that place."

"I wouldn't worry about any trouble for myself." Byakuya took the card regardless but his expression remained untouched. His eyes glanced over it then placed the item inside his desk. "Actually, I was wondering, do you know why the asylum closed down?"

"No, do you?"

The man shaked his head, the bangs twirling at the movement. "No, but there has been something strange going on around me. It's like there's someone following me. I suggest you be careful too."

"I see, I'll keep that in mind." Hitsugaya stood up and bowed to the older man. "Anyway, thank you for your time. I'll be going now." He twisted to the side and headed towards the door, leaving. He paused at the doorway, Renji outside, watching intriguingly. "You know, Kuchiki, there's always another chance to live life and you can't always run from your past. I'm already living my own right now but I'm still trying to figure things out. I'm a survivor just like you; we both can do something different so don't give up yet."

He closed the door and headed back to the elevator.

* * *

Hitsugaya stood in front of the main division's area, the Oil department. He took a deep breath, preparing himself, this was really it. He wanted to change and knew that there was only one way to do so. He couldn't be shackled down to this place forever, it was too stressing for him and he needed to go out, Ichimaru had showed that to him without knowing. Hitsugaya entered Yamamoto's office with little trouble; the assistant was at the side, nodding to him. The old greaser glared at the albino through his closed eyelids, wondering what the man wanted. The ice prince sauntered forward without saying a thing and dropped a document onto the table. He stepped back, waiting for the response. Sasakibe took the sheet, eyes quickly reading over it, widening slightly at each second. He leaned over, whispering the report into head leader's ear. The old man's eyes snapped open and stared at Hitsugaya.

"Are you sure about this?" He spoke with that gruffly yet strong tone.

Hitsugaya nodded without a hint of regret or doubt. He wanted to do this and for a long time too. "Yes."

"I understand, I won't say anything on your decision. The spot will be open for you if you ever decide to come back." Yamamoto huffed, standing up from his seat, stalking over to the younger man. He held out his hand in an approving way and the ice prince shook it. He was free at last.

"I don't think I'll ever be coming back again sad to say but I might come and visit one day." The pressure was off of him, the commander accepting his request and felt relieved.

"I hope you will. It was nice to have you here even if it was just for a few years."

"Thanks you."

* * *

Hitsugaya could hardly move, his body was glued to the seat while watching a scene that appeared to be some kind of battle. Apparently, his resignation had spread across the building like wildfire, some giving him odd looks, others glamour ones. He ignored them all except for one person in his division that could make him snap, Matsumoto. Five words sent him into this pit of despair.

"Let's have a farewell party!"

And since Matsumoto was the host, she had, of course, brought in the booze and sake and anything that had alcohol in it within a couple of second. It was like they had materialized out of nowhere. In the end, he wasn't surprised that most of the people had come here only for the _drinks_ and not him, not that he cared. He didn't even _want_ a party; it was as if they were happy that he was going. The ice prince sulked in the back of the building, hiding from the people; he wished he wasn't here right now. His eyes caught sight of Hinimori and her two buddies/roommates and someone else, coming towards him. The other person had black hair, a scar on the left eye and a tattoo of a '69' on the cheek. He seemed like a rough fellow and a drinker, Hitsugaya recognized him as Hisagi Shuuhei, one of the workers here, but he wasn't sure from which division.

"Ah, Whitey-chan!" Hinamori called out running up to him.

"It's Hitsugaya, call me by my name." It was weaker than his other responses, he had gotten used to being called by nicknames because of Ichimaru.

The bubbly girl sat down beside him, the three men in front of her, all eyes on him. They were curious for the sudden development. "So why are you quitting? Surely the job you have here is great."

He should have expected that question sooner or later. "I just need a change of scenery, that's all. Don't worry; I'll still be able to pay my share of the rent unless I move out."

"But it still doesn't make any sense. Why would you quit only for that? The pay is great, the stress isn't _that_ bad and you have a lot of free time, so why?" Kira wondered too, leaning in to hear the answer over the numerous others.

'Free time my ass; I would have gotten some if it wasn't for Matsumoto.' He sighed deeply. "Like I said, it's just a change. I want to do something different, that's all."

No one believed him. "If you say so."

* * *

"Hey, Hitsugaya, can I ask you something? It's really important." The voice came from the wall, echoing along the stones. The ice prince crawled to the hole, bending down on the floor; he was tired but was willing enough to listen to the other's request.

"Go ahead."

"_Do you love me?_"

Hitsugaya felt his body freeze at those _words_. His breath hitched, something he hadn't felt in a long time ran through his veins and he didn't know why. His reaction to them had startled his entire being; he hadn't been expecting those at all. Perhaps he was just hearing things so he asked. "W-What?"

The voice chuckled as if amused by Hitsugaya's tone of voice. "I said 'Do you love me?'. You know as a man loves a woman."

Hitsugaya opened his mouth and closed it multiple times, looking like a fresh fish right out of the water even though the man couldn't see him. He didn't know what to say, he wasn't prepared for this type of question. He tried to calm himself enough to think straight. It wasn't as if he was proposing or saying that they should have sex or something, just a simple confession. Wait, where the hell had that idea come from?! Hitsugaya shaked his head, tossing all his thoughts out the window and tried again but failed.

"You don't have to answer now, you know." It sounded concerned and a little disappointed; the voice had wanted an answer. He was willing to wait if he was going to get one in the end.

Hitsugaya glared through the hole and continued to consider and finally came up with the right solution. His heart and soul was telling him so and shifted nearer to the wall.

"Yes, I do."

His voice sounded so deep and piercing that he was afraid that it might have seemed outlandish. A shuffle came from the other side, clothes sliding across the floor.

"I do too, you know." It sounded clinch but he could deal with it, the asylum of darkness and silence did that to people. Hitsugaya could just see the smile on the man's face and closed his eyes, imagining it.

"I love you…"

The ice prince whispered, leaning into the wall for support as if he could feel the warmth of the other's body.

"_Ichimaru Gin_."

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Tada, it has been revealed, though I know that a lot of you have already figured it out. Curse you, just kidding. I wouldn't do such a thing. A lot of things were done and revealed in this one, sorry if it was a bit hasty. I showed a bit of Hitsugaya's past for you guys and I'll try to put more in along the way. Hopefully, that is, if it fits. Please review, it would be lovely.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** Finally, it's all coming together. YES!!

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Chapter 9

"_I love you…Ichimaru Gin."_

Those words spoken in his own voice echoed through his head. He couldn't stop the shock from coming to him, from finding out the truth. The same person that had been with him this whole time was the same one he had met at the asylum! He shaked his head, not believing it, it couldn't be true, it just couldn't. Hitsugaya loved the person in his dreams and he loved the older albino he had come to be with. It couldn't be possible that they were the one and the same. He glanced over to his clock, it was one o'clock in the morning, he shouldn't be up at this point of time but he knew sleep wouldn't be able to arrive until everything was straightened out.

Hitsugaya wanted to try visiting the man but surely the owner would be fast asleep at this point of time. He squeezed his fist, deep in thought. No, this couldn't wait until tomorrow; it _had_ to be answered _now_. Quickly writing a note to Hinamori, he left the apartment, making sure he was all dressed for the cooler weather of the night. It was a bit windy and chilly than normal especially since it gets so hot during the day. Everything was so quiet, not a single sound could be heard besides the tumbling of objects pushed by the breeze. Hitsugaya snuggled into his blue jacket and headed off, eyes wandering around for anything suspicious. He'd didn't want to get attacked by some drunk or anything else especially around this area where it happened quite often. The albino headed in the darkness, avoiding light and hardly making any sounds. His movement would pause whenever he thought he had heard something odd. Usually, it was nothing but when the third time happened, he was sure that _someone was following_. Grinding his teeth, he ran forward, eyes peering behind to see if anyone was there. No one came out.

Maybe it was his imagination but he'd rather not stick around to find out. He dashed into a park that was in front of Ichimaru's shop/house. If he could get through there safely then everything would be alright.

As he darted down the sidewalk, rushing pass bushes, numerous footsteps hidden by the sound of the wind came behind. He grunted, scurrying faster but the footsteps kept coming. He knew it couldn't be a ghost; there was no presence on his body to indicate them so that left only one opinion, they were human or at least alive. The sounds got closer; he actually feared that they might overrun him but they didn't, just trailing behind. Hitsugaya bit his bottom lip and glanced back, seeing numerous men in black suits. Twisting towards the front, he knew he had to escape, he had to. He couldn't get caught here; he needed with speak to Ichimaru no matter what.

Suddenly, he felt something wrap around his leg and give a jerk back. The ice prince fell forward, raising his arms up for protection and crashed painfully, tormenting his knees and scraping both elbows and ankles. Hitsugaya whimpered in agony, the pain shooting up his spine and tried to stand up but to no avail. He yelped, his weight giving out on him and heard the men coming to a stop.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice cracking from the extreme amounts of ache of his limbs.

"We're here to take you back." One of them spoke up; there was no emotion in the voice as if they were a robot.

"Take me back where?" The albino tried again, hoping to get a straight answer.

"_To the asylum_."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened, _no_, he _wasn't_ going back there. He started struggling again, trying to get back up. It was hard to do so without relying on his elbows but he did shakily. He wobbled side to side, unable to properly stand on his feet before hitting the ground again. His emerald pools glared hotly at all the men, there were about fifteen of them. "I'm _not_ going back to that hell hole."

Another one stepped forward. "You have no choice in the matter." He reached out, ready to grab the albino when he stopped, making a choking sound. Everyone turned to him and saw something stabbed out the stomach. It was a fist, sprouting out the end, covered in blood and guts. As it retracted out, the guy coughed, collapsing forward, never to get up again. Hitsugaya's eyes rested on his rescuer.

"Grimmjow?"

"What a weakling that one was." The teal-haired demon sneered, punching his fist into another soldier. He had a grin, one that loved to fight, and smashed his opponents apart. He paused for a moment, glancing towards the fallen albino. "Hey, what are you doing? Go already!"

"He can't, I'm afraid." A voice appeared in the chaos; another enemy falling into two-halves. "He's hardly able to walk right now with those wounds." Ulquiorra was standing behind the man that been killed, one hand out while the other was in the pocket. He strolled forward, ignoring the other, his green-eyed gaze on the ice prince. He stood protectively beside the albino, calculating the next target.

A loud scream came from their backs, two more people fell, their bodies rendered in pieces. Hitsugaya didn't recognize the attack and spotted the black-haired owner of the black magic store in the middle.

"Silrin! What are you doing here?!"

The woman snorted, expressionless. "Helping you, of course." Besides her stood a tall man with blond hair, claws as hands, covered in blood and seem very distant. The ice prince narrowed his eyebrows, feeling something familiar in that man and glanced down at Silrin's free hands. She noticed the stare and pointed to the blond. "That's Night, my doll."

"Oh, I…see…"

She outstretched her hand towards the fallen albino, waiting for him to take it. "Come, we're getting out of here."

Hitsugaya was grateful for the help but his pride got in the way. "I can still move. You should be more concern about yourself."

"I find no need to worry. I have Night and the two demons with me, nothing bad will happen. I _already_ know." The blond man ran off, slashing people apart in a blink of an eye, his black clock flapping and rustling in the darkness. Grimmjow was enjoying the fight, killing back and forth while Ulquiorra remained in the back, watching. Silrin didn't do anything but walk away. "I will escort you to your destination. This way."

"Wait." Hitsugaya jerked a bit. "I'm heading to Ichimaru's, not home."

Silrin didn't turn back around and grabbed his hand, dashing off with him. "I know, you're going there to ask whether or not he's the one from back then. I know all about it and that's why you're going to follow me there, understand."

"A-Alright." As much as he wanted to ask how she knew about it, he was sure he would never get an answer.

Grimmjow killed the last man and gave a laugh as if his desire had been fulfilled. Ulquiorra remained his same stoic self, both hands in his pockets and he appeared bored. The demon glanced over the corpses and sighed heavily, nearing the teal-haired man. Night had disappeared again and the albino noticed that the black-haired girl was carrying the doll. It looked as if it had gone back to its _normal_ state.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow then shaked his head, turning his attention to the owner after glimpsing back. He _didn't_ need to see Grimmjow leaning over to Ulquiorra with a grin that wasn't as mad as the last one and more on the _seductive_ side. He groaned, feeling out of place but the two remained back at the scene while he was pushed forward. His feet trembled, almost collapsing under his weight and tried to straightened them up.

"We'll be there before you fall." Silrin spoke emotionlessly, her long black hair fluttering behind. It would have hit his face but she reached back, grabbing a hold of the strains and yanked it forward so it wouldn't get in the way.

"Why are you helping me out?" The albino asked, curious as to why the entire group was here. They were almost out of the park, the other side of the street appearing. It were empty; no one was out even though it was like two in the morning.

Silrin didn't answer, stopping in her steps, right in front of the entrance to the Ichimaru's shop. She let go of the hand and wandered back to the two demons or maybe home, he wasn't sure.

"Thanks." He muttered, feeling his breath taken away before wobbling to the front door, knocking on it. There was still a light in the window so he thought it would be okay. Some footsteps were heard and the door opened, Fuse sauntering out. She took one glance at the albino and stepped aside, welcoming him in. She let him settle down in the living room of the house area, rushing upstairs that was to the side. The room was left in silence even when Ichimaru came dashing down. He took one look at the Hitsugaya and the bleeding wounds and nodded to Fuse, who had followed. She ran off again, going through the door while he went to Hitsugaya's side, peeling the ruined jacket off and rolled up the pants, checking the knees, running his cold boney fingers over the flesh. It was going to be a bruise, a large one on both of them after the cut was healed.

Ichimaru asked. "What happened?"

"…I was attacked."

The older albino didn't make a retort, his concerns on the other. Fuse entered back with the first-aid kit, handing it over to the owner of the store. She left afterwards, disappearing behind the door again, probably to read something. He quickly opened the box, taking out the rags and disinfect, placing it on the table with a sharp 'click'. His fingers gracefully pulled the sleeves up, reaching for the first elbow, examining it with his sealed eyes. He picked up the bottle and poured the contents into the cloth, soaking it. The smell of the alcohol surrounded them even after the cap was closed and Hitsugaya hissed loudly, when the liquid touched the scrape. Ichimaru held it down, offering comforting words. "Just hold on a little longer. You can rest later."

Hitsugaya didn't reply, letting the owner bandage up his arms and move onto the knees. His hands went forward, around Ichimaru's neck and felt something. The other froze, gazing questionably at his patient but didn't say anything nor move. The peachy fingers tugged at the string and yanked the item out. Hitsugaya's eyes didn't widen or anything, remaining stuck on the pendent that was hanging on the bottom. It was a blue crystal, his mother's.

"Ichimaru…" His voice whispered.

"So you've figured it out." The older albino went back to healing, putting the cloth onto another wound, earning a hiss. "I never thought you would."

"Why didn't you say anything about it to me?" The ice prince grumbled, he wasn't the type that would get depressed easily. He was tempted to grip the short white hair and yank it up to get a straight answer but didn't, he want to hear the words straight out of those lips.

At first, Ichimaru didn't reply but his usual fox-like grin was gone, it had been replaced with a concerned expression. "I thought you had forgotten about me so I didn't bother. I wanted to work my way back into your heart like I had long ago, seems like I still have an effect on you."

Hitsugaya huffed. "Idiot."

Ichimaru snickered, his hands shaking from laughter and paused in his almost-completed work. A smile bloomed on his face, it was a _real_ smile. He nearly knocked the glass bottle over when he moved. Hitsugaya pouted, not suspecting such a laughter from the older man. Slowly, the older albino quieted down. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing. I just remembered something."

"And what would that be?"

"Nothing, its nothing." Ichimaru leaned up, capturing the lips passionately, forgetting about other things that needed to be taken care of. His fingers slid down the small legs, the fingernails scratching gently along the pants. He heard Hitsugaya hitch at the sudden action, tensing up at the sensation. When the owner retracted back, he had a large grin that went from one ear to the other.

"Y-You!" The ice prince blushed and twitched, tempted to kick Ichimaru. "D-Don't do that!"

"And why not?"

Hitsugaya didn't answer and hissed again when the wet cloth went over another cut. Ichimaru massaged the legs, hitting the right spots that made the toes curl. "It's a bit twisted; you'll have trouble walking for a little while." Wrapping the bandages around it, he gazed back up. The ice prince flinched back, he didn't like that _smile_, it had that mischievous glint in it. He watched Ichimaru lean over, sitting up beside him, in-between the legs and that _wasn't_ a good thought.

The owner snatched the lips again, making it longer, prying open the mouth. He felt the other respond, allowing entrance and kissing back, wrapping his arms around the neck. Ichimaru shifted himself, the lips traveling down the chin. A moan came from above and then a whimper. The albino grinned in delight, nibbling along the crook of the neck, trailing kisses up and down it. His light feather touches send shivers of pleasure up Hitsugaya's spine and his smirk grew larger at each gasp and moan.

"I-Ichimaru, w-wait! Ah!"

He had gone to the ear, licking behind before sliding into the inner realm. The tongue made circles inside, his warm breath ticking the sensitive flesh. Hitsugaya arched his back, unable to resist the bliss that was clouding his mind and thoughts. It felt good and he didn't want it to stop, not yet. His lips were parted and dry and he licked them hungrily. He bended his hand to the side, giving the man better access and moaned louder.

Ichimaru shifted, his left hand brushing up against the glass bottle again, still on the table. "Hm…better put that away before anything bad happens." He broke off, not wanting to clean up the mess if anything happens. His fingers reached down to the supplies, quickly setting them away back into their original container and kicked it aside. While that was happening, Hitsugaya was trying to calm his heart and body and the blood in his veins that were throbbing hard. He was beet-red and gasping for breath. He gulped, staring at the older albino and lifted his foot up, kicking the man square in the chest. The poor man let out a pained yelp. "Ow! What was _that_ for? It hurts, you know."

He cradled his aching stomach and sat back up on the couch, joining the ice prince. Hitsugaya huffed angrily. "You deserved it."

Ichimaru tilted his head, pulling off a confused look, the lips stuck in a thin line. He leaned to the side, resting his head on the ice prince's shoulder, the white hair brushing along the neck.

Hitsugaya snarled but didn't move. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ichimaru buried his face into the crook of the neck. "So do you want to have some fun?"

"Fun?" Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow until it hit him at full force. "Oh…_that_."

"I can always wait until you're ready if you want." He sang, wrapping his arms around the younger man, pulling him into his grip. Hitsugaya tried to struggle back but felt too tired to try, any lingering pain from his cuts gone. He allowed the owner to do whatever he wanted as long as it didn't go too far. His thoughts were on the idea of doing it with this…this grinning, mischievous, mysterious person.

Now that he mentioned it, he hardly knew anything about Ichimaru besides from the time he had spent in the asylum but…he glanced down at the weight on his shoulders and sighed. He leaned over, planting a kiss on the forehead; Ichimaru picked his head up slightly. "Is that a 'yes'?"

"_No_!" Hitsugaya huffed and twisted away, when he felt the grip tighten. He was pushed back, sprawled across Ichimaru's lap and felt the lips on his own. Wrapping his arms around the neck, he tugged the other closer. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

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The next chapter is going to be a little different. Someone's past is going to appear but who's.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** You know, it's kinda funny. I was actually typing out chapter _11_ instead of _10._ Oh well, it wasn't a hard problem to fix, it was quite easy.

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Chapter 10

**Year 1500**

_Is it wrong to be inhuman?_

_Is it wrong to not be normal? To live longer than others? To be unable to age? To have a life that is completely different than anyone else's?_

_Is it really that bad? To be unable to die?_

_Is it really that horrible?_

"After him! Quick! Don't let that _freak_ get away!"

"He'll curse this town!"

A young albino ran up a hill, a group of people with pitchforks and torches were right behind, swearing him out. Wounds and bruises were planted all over his torn body, his clothes covered in his own blood. Ichimaru's red pools stared behind for a moment, watching the numerous people chase after him. His lungs were in pain from all the running he had done, taking long deep breathes in and out while the air was crisply cold. It actually started to _hurt_ to breath. His feet were red, shoes tattered from the rocks he had hit, blood trailing behind him. He persisted in dashing up that same hill, trying to hide from the murderous crowd that sought nothing but his death.

"Freak!"

"Monster!"

The names continued to be called out in anger, people rushing up. Ichimaru carried on, glancing back every few seconds to check their progress. He could spot the little town he had once called home to and now he was being kicked out of. The village was glowing with a bright red light from the burning of the torches and there was a vivid one in the darkness of the night. It was his house, lit with flames dancing in the air. His chest constricted at that and turned away, rushing up the stairs. He noticed that he was coming to the top where a church was settled up there. He pushed on the entrance's doors, entered inside and closed them. The crowd hadn't made it up yet and it gave him a few moments to catch his breath. He piled the wooden seats in front, making sure that they wouldn't be able to get through to torment him. The albino glanced around the place, it was empty. There was an altar where people prayed with a crucified god at the end. Stained glass windows were surrounding him with pictures of stories all inside decorated in different colors and shapes. It would have been pretty considering the time. Ichimaru ran towards the front, his baggy clothes easily shifting around his thin frame and twisted, watching the door carefully. The wooden frames banged, cries and shoots coming from outside. Ichimaru went behind the altar, hiding there, clutching himself tightly.

Then a shatter came with a hard 'thump', he peeked out, trying to figure out what had happened. He spotted the object, a rock nearby, lying on the carpeted floor. Glass shards were scattered all over the floor, pieces glittering. More rocks and pebbles came flying through, hitting everything and creating dents in the furniture. The door continued to bang but the chairs he had placed in front didn't budge. Ichimaru went back to concealing himself, covering his ears as the voices came through the broken windows. Fire was thrown in next, lighting the wood but he remained where he was at, even as it spread to cover the entire building. The screams went further away as the fire roared but he didn't move, not willing to go out to the crowd where he knew he'd be besieged and ridiculed. The fire appeared welcoming and he stared at it with his red eyes before closing them. Then he smiled, yes, it _should_ end this way.

_No_, it should _have_ ended this way.

He didn't die, no, he couldn't, he wouldn't. After all, he was trapped in an endless cycle.

No matter how many times he had been killed, cut up, beaten. He lived it all, _all_ of it. What made this any different?

It would prolong, no matter what happened and he would only be in more aches.

Ichimaru sighed, standing up, heading over to the door through the flames. Everything that happened next was stuck in a flash; he didn't even care what had occurred, just knowing that it had. The villagers, all of them, surrounded him in piles as corpses, one top of another. Blood was covering everything in sight and he had been dyed in its lovely rich shade. His once silver hair was now red and wet as it stuck to his forehead. His bare feet splashed through the puddles, sending ripples through the calm liquid. The stench of death admitted on the field with the church burning to the ground in the back. His talismans were dancing around him, glowing brightly, just floating in mid-air. All the people, the entire crowd was gone, torn into pieces. Ichimaru grinned; it was their just reward for what they had done to him, his payback.

But he suddenly sensed that he wasn't _alone_. Ichimaru called out, keeping his weapons out. "Who's there?"

A figure dressed in black stepped out of the trees, her shoes stepping into the blood. Her long black hair almost touched the bottom and then the wind blew, tossing the long locks about. Her clothes were odd, not like the clothing in this time; it was all black and mysterious with ribbons. "I am Silrin and I have come here for your services."

Her voice whispered over the dead, the doll in her hands remaining still. Ichimaru thought it had shifted for a moment and had seen its eyes but he tossed that off. He grinned. "My services? How fascinating. What type?"

Silrin stepped forward with no fear. "Your type. It's in your best interest to come with me."

The albino chuckled amusingly before heading closer. This could be interesting and he _did_ perceive something _odd_ about her, something just like him. Maybe going wouldn't hurt. "Alright then, I'll come along."

Thus the contact was made.

Ichimaru continued to live on those years, unable to age or die, working under Silrin. He did whatever she asked for and went off to do it, it didn't matter if it was to retrieve an item or to kill a person, all he cared for was getting paid. Over time, his personality hardened and he turned into something different, always keeping a smile on his face. It scared people, _most_ of them. Sirlin remained indifferent, it was as if she didn't have any emotion yet at the same time, the jobs he took were actually helping someone else out. She was just one strange woman. He met the Midnight Moon group through her, including the leader, and became good friends with the people there. Many of them were just like him, trapped in time. In the 1680's, he left Sirlin and headed out on his own in the world but he still kept in touch with both and helped out whenever asked.

In the early 1690's, he had been hanged as well as burned alive when America was searching for witches. How could he explain his usual abilities? He couldn't and that lead him to ache. No one listened and he ran each time, going into hiding, moving continuously, making sure that he wouldn't stay in one place for too long. After a while, once people hit a different age, they stopped caring about others entirely, only their families, and it made things much easier for him. Ichimaru remained in the darkness, waiting patiently for things to keep going. That, however, ended once World War I came around. He was forced into the battlefield but he didn't fight much and was killed too, though, it wasn't always guns, sometimes by the mines and bombs that were placed around, killing allies and enemies alike. He used his magic and talismans in secret and he even had to participate in WWII. He got shot in the head a few times, especially when he went into the enemies' ditch in Germany. The poison gas that had been dropped had no effect on him and waved it off as nothing. No one noticed it when he got hurt, he just continued ahead, blending in with his surroundings. Soon after, things began to settle down but not before the Cold War and the Vietnam War came and then he finally moved to Japan to stay there.

Hundreds of years later, the asylum came and took him away.

And that was where he met Hitsugaya.

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Tada! A short history outlook on Ichimaru! I was thinking about doing Hitsugaya but didn't. I thought that his character hasn't been explained enough so it was Ichimaru's turn. Hoped you liked it.

Review!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** Ah, I'm so busy and sleepy… and have decided to do the sex scene at the near last chapters. Sorry for that everyone. Also I've found this yaoi site called **meiwangetsu **where people can post up their original stories; I've joined so my time here with these fanfics will be split in half.

Heres a little sidenote. For some odd reason, whenever I upload a new chapter some of the spaces get deleted so if any of you guys find any, tell me so I can go back and fix it!

Beta'd by the lovely sidhechaos!

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**Chapter 11**

Hitsugaya cracked open his eyes but then closed them, the sunlight shining through the window made a direct hit onto them. He squinted and snuggled into the warmth, shifting around in the blankets. An arm was draped over his body with a head nuzzled into his hair. The ice prince twisted over to the face, staring at Ichimaru with a soft smile. It was warm, that was all he cared about, this fluffy bubbly sensation that surrounded him.

Suddenly, the older man smiled, squeezing on the small body in his arms. His eyes were still closed and it was hard to tell whether he was truly awake or not. Hitsugaya was only able to tell when the other spoke softly. "Good morning, Snowy.

"It's Hitsugaya." He instantly replied, the right eye twitching with the eyebrows narrowing.

"Ah, you're so cute you know that." Ichimaru cuddled deeper, smelling the sweet scent of the white locks. He received a soft nudge at the stomach, pushing him back. "Hey, that not very nice."

"Your fault." Hitsugaya huffed, turning over to his side of the bed and flinched. The wounds from yesterday still haven't recovered all the way, not only that, the lower half of his body was still sore from…last night's…activity…

The arms that still held him slipped off, the fingernails traveling down to the wounds. Ichimaru shifted closer, bending his back so he could rest his head on the ice prince's shoulder. His boney fingers glided over the bandages and pressed tenderly into it with the tip of his nails. Hitsugaya hissed and by reflex, yanked it away. Ichimaru chucked. "I don't think you should go anywhere for today until they've healed a little bit more. You can stay in the shop and wonder around."

"Fine, whatever…hey wait, Ichimaru, can I ask you something?" Hitsugaya twisted around onto his back, facing the ceiling. Ichimaru was on his stomach, looking straight at him. "I've quit my old job and well…" He droned off, unable to finish the sentence and stared hopefully at the older man.

"Of course, you can work here and you can even live with me too. It'll be like we're married!" Ichimaru instantly replied, he had said it so fast that it made the younger albino's eyes widen. "But!" He exclaimed, rising up a finger. "You'll have to ask Fuse _first_. She'll decide on what to do since she's also an employee here."

"I…understand." Suddenly Hitsugaya sat up, the covers sliding off his bare chest and to his thighs. He yanked the arms off, tugging on his shirt and stretched. Ichimaru was a little shocked by the twist of fate and didn't exactly like that. He wrapped his arms around the chibi's waist, teasingly kissing along the right back shoulder with his light feather touches making Hitsugaya squirm. The ice prince growled threateningly, gaining back control of the situation and yanked himself away, taking a deep breath. When he stood up from the bed, he almost tumbled, his legs not yet ready to support his weight. Ichimaru reacted faster, catching the younger in his arms.

"You all right?" He asked carefully and lifted the boy into his lap. "Here, let me see." The owner checked the leg, raising it up for a better view. The knee cap was already being to turn black and blue. It would be horrible looking when it was done bruising, they both knew that. "Well, if you want to get up that badly, I'll just have to _help_ you." He reached down, grabbing their clothes with a smirk as he thought of something. Separating his own from Hitsugaya's, he bundled the younger albino's clothes into a ball and threw it into the ice prince's face. "Tada!"

"Ichimaru!!" The shorter albino cried out as the mass of clothes fell down, his expression clearly burning in anger. The other just laughed if off before picking Hitsugaya up, ignoring the threats and punches that came his way.

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"Yes? What do you want?" Fuse asked. She was still at her regular seat in the shop with a different book in her hands. She flipped a page, her eyes moving across the paper. She didn't even glance up from her novel to look at Hitsugaya.

The ice prince examined the store; it didn't look any different than before. "Well I was wondering if it'll be okay for me to work here."

This finally made her stop, her head coming up to stare. The female's expression didn't even budge as she closed the book and tossed it to the side with a heavy clatter. Hitsugaya blinked at the violent response he had gotten, wondering if it was necessary to _throw_ the book. "You want to work here?" Her voice was thick and heavy as if she was scolding someone. The right arm lifted up, the sleeves drooping down further. Hitsugaya had a single thought on the sleeves but went straight back to the woman at hand. He watched her as if she calculating something and then as she leaned forward. "You're Hitsugaya, correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

Fuse snorted then backed up, folding her arms. "You're fine. I think you'll be able to keep up with his type of place. And also, Boss, please stop hiding when I know you're there." She called out, rotating to retrieve for her fallen book, re-opening it back to her page. A light laughter came from the door which opened to reveal Ichimaru. Hitsugaya didn't know what to say, well at least, he got the job…he hoped he did.

"Well, that's that. Welcome aboard, Snowy, glad to have you." Ichimaru cheered with his hands in the sleeves again, hiding them from view. He skipped over to the ice prince and nudged him forward. "Alright, allow me to show you around."

"I think I already know how this place works."

"But you haven't seen the back rooms. You see, this place has three main areas. The house part, this one, and the back rooms though those are usually sealed away since I'd rather not have any of the dangerous things in there running about. I have a few animals too; I pretty sure they'll like you." Ichimaru dragged the younger albino to the area he was talking about and opened the door. It was quiet and dark, too calm for the store, it was creepy. Hitsugaya glanced around; the place was split in two with a door on each side. "This side is off limits." Ichimaru pointed to the right and then to the left. "This area you can go into at any time. Come on."

They entered the room, the ice prince trailing behind, not sure if this was a good idea to be following this crazy person. Inside, there were rows of shelves, many of them filled with objects of all kinds. A few dolls here and there with a sword or two hanging on the wall. A couple of them were larger than he was and probably weighted a ton. Now how were people able to pick those up?

"What are these?" The ice prince asked, reaching over to touch one. The surface was sharp and cold.

"Ah, those are some old swords I'm keeping for Silrin. She asked me to put them here since she moves her shop so often that she can't keep up with everything. She even has to change her employees every so often too, about every hundred years. I think she has a group of people she's usually around though I don't think I've met any of them. I'm pretty sure they don't live in this world or dimension." Ichimaru chuckled, nearing the albino with a sly smile.

Hitsugaya noted something instantly with that exchange of words. "Wait a minute, just how old is she? It's as if you're saying that she's been alive for a long period of time."

"It's hard to say, I meet her long ago after I got caught in a church fire. She was the one that broke in and saved me. I went under her like Grimmjow and Ulquiorra for a couple of years before going on my own and meeting up with the Midnight Moon." The older albino sighed, bringing a sleeve close to his mouth, hiding it. "But that was _sooo_ long ago. I hardly remember it now a days."

"I see…"

As they went deeper into the room, four beasts came running up from behind some shelves. They were all cats, meowing out to Ichimaru, purring and rubbing against his legs as if demanding to be scratched. Hitsugaya stared at the animals and kneeled down with the other, reaching out to pet them. One of the cats was pure white, other black, the third brown, and the last one had a mixture of all three colors.

"Oh…There you are. Is this where you guys been hiding?" The onmyouji smiled, rubbing a head, earning a purr from the white one. The black-colored cat glanced over to the ice prince and wiggled around the group, jumping onto his shoulder. It meowed again, rubbing against his cheek, the fur soft and smooth, obvious that it had been well kept. "Seems he's taken a liking to you, Snowy." Ichimaru chuckled, shifting closer, cradling the white, brown and multi-colored one in his arms. "The white one's name is Snow, the other Spect, the brown one, Mana, and the last one that's with you is Gate."

"And my name is Hitsugaya for the last time." The younger albino growled, it was starting to become a habit now in correcting the man whenever he called him that ridiculous nickname. He lifted up the cat from his shoulder and held him in his arms, high above his head to get a good stare at the eyes. Slowly, he cradled the beast, scratching the back of the ears and smiled when Gate nuzzled into his touch.

"Ichimaru." Fuse called out from the main room with a bored voice. She opened the door quietly and yawned, her fingers inside the book, keeping her page, and spotted the two albinos easily on the ground. "Hey, you two, there's some people from the Midnight Moon here to see you two."

"For _both_ of us?" Hitsugaya stopped what he was doing and stared at the woman in curiosity. The two glanced at each other and followed out, the four cats trailing behind, their tails wagging. They went into the lounging area where three people sat in the seats, one of them Ichigo and the last two, both dressed in black. Hitsugaya gave a slightly friendly wave to the orange-haired man. "So you're here too?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, Shirosaki is here too but he's decided to remain in my soul."

Ichimaru sighed, motioning his hand for Fuse to come over. "You're here for the attack last night, correct?" The older albino stared at the two females that were sitting on his sofa comfortably. The taller of the two had long black hair that came down to the back of her knees, the bangs covering up half or more of her face. Her skin was white; really white like their hair and the blackness of everything else only made it appear paler. She was wearing revealing clothes, shorts and a tank top but her figure was divine. But what made her stand out was the chest. Now they were _extremely_ large, able to compete with Matsumoto but Hitsugaya wasn't interested in such things, he was already pinned to someone. And he didn't like the looks he was getting from the woman; they were both harsh and demanding.

The other was in a black dress with frills as hems and a fishnet casting over the material. She had multiple piercings in her ears, each one different. The sleeves were like Ichimaru's, going down and extending to the hands while the skin was covered with a fishnet as gloves. The black hair was short, only going to the neck with two strands of red at the sides, standing out. The crimson eyes were emotionless and appeared more like a pool of blood then an eye. The edges of the dress only stopped at the knee, revealing the legs that were also covered by those nets and she wore black dress shoes. She spoke up first with a soft voice. "Yes, that's right."

Ichimaru's expression changed instantly, settling down on the opposite side. He was no longer smiling. "I see." They quickly introduced themselves to each other, Hitsugaya learning that the leader of the Midnight Moon was the taller female, Rin, and her right-hand man--or woman in this case-- was Raven.

Rin spoke up next, legs crossed. "I know that both of you and Ichigo are from the Asylum. There's a rumor that the same place is being created again and they're starting to re-collect their escapees. I've been growing a bit wary of this and Silrin has informed me of very little, telling me to come here instead. So do any of you know anything about it, or at least in better detail?"

Hitsugaya tensed up, his remembrance of last night was coming back as well as something else. He blushed at the image/memory of yesterday and coughed, trying to drive it away. "I…do."

The leader's black eyes targeted him. "Explain."

* * *

"I thought so, it's just as they said." Rin growled, curling up her fingers, looking ready to punch anything that neared her. Her eyebrows narrowed but she didn't move from her spot, just sitting on the couch. Raven glanced over from the side but didn't do anything, remaining ever so still like a doll, or a gothic one perhaps.

Ichimaru perked his head up. "They?"

Even Ichigo gazed over, curious as to _whom_ she had meant.

Rin sighed, rising up an arm to hold up her head, the long black strands gliding down her shoulders, collecting at the base. Her expression showed that of boredom. "My younger sister and cousin. I asked them to check things out for me since I had a bad feeling, guess I was right."

Raven remained still, hands in her lap, neat and orderly. It appeared as if nothing could disturb her, the red eyes staring at the table. When she moved, no one else was and spoke clearly. "I guess we should keep a more watchful eye on the area. With our abilities, it should be an easy thing to do."

"Yeah, that's true. It's just a pain to get everyone together and inform them of what's going on." Rin groaned. "No matter, it has to go out." She gazed at the two albinos and then to the orange-haired man. "We'll try and keep a watch out for you three but I'm not sure we can prevent everything that happens so just in case, you should keep your guard up until we find their hideout and destroy it. This time, let's kill that bastard; I _really_ don't want to go through this again."

Hitsugaya decided to break into the conversation with a clearing of his throat. All eyes turned to him and he glanced around the room, examining them closely. Fuse was at a corner, reading her book, not really paying any attention. Ichigo looked slightly distracted with a faint blush on his cheeks; the ice prince just figured that Shirosaki was trying something, something he would rather not find out about. "I have a request." Rin nodded, wanting to hear it. "There's another person I'd like you to keep watch of too. A man by the name of Byakuya Kuchiki, he works at my old job. He's also like the rest of us, though I don't know what he can do." Hitsugaya paused for a moment and glanced to Ichimaru with a stern gaze. "Now that I mention it, I don't really know what _your_ abilities are either."

The older albino grinned, waving lightly, completely carefree. "Oh, really? I didn't know that."

"Yes you do, don't lie to me!"

Raven stood up and interrupted the argument, her black dress fluttering at the movement. "That request can be done; however, that man no longer works there anymore."

Hitsugaya blinked. "What?"

"Byakuya quit earlier today in the morning. It was quite a ruckus considering how much he meant for that place that even our sources managed to catch a wind of it." She spoke with a soft yet strong tone. The red strands of her hair shifted a little as she turned, strolling to the side. Her body glided gracefully along the floor, the hems of fabric dancing. Rin followed, her expression hidden away. "I already know what to do with him though so there's no need to worry."

"Thank you." Hitsugaya suddenly felt like asking one last thing that has been on his mind for all his life. "I have a question."

All eyes came back to him.

"Who was the one that destroyed the asylum in the first place?"

Rin scrunched her nose. "My younger sister, Semera. She's the one that did it but I don't know how, just that she's the one responsible."

The silence that flooded into the area felt heavy until the other female spoke.

"Lady Rin, we should get going." Raven nudged the woman without actually touching her. Rin sighed and twisted to the two men on the couch while standing up, towering above them. She nodded her head and followed Raven but they didn't go to the door, instead, they stood behind the couch as if waiting for something to happen. Ichigo was right behind, still trying to calm his face from the deep blush that was threatening to engulf his normal color. Hitsugaya made a sound, about to say something else when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Gazing over, he stared at Ichimaru for a second before turning back. Two profound feelings grew in his chest and they grew larger as a black portal opened up next to the Midnight Moon members. Rin's long black hair spread apart at the invisible wind, the strands appearing like wings, flapping up and down at the current. He thought for a second that she had glanced towards him and whisper something but he didn't hear it. The group headed in and disappeared inside, black feathers floating out of the hole. Once they were completely gone, the portal closed back up and the first sensation disappeared, however, something else remained. Along with that, the wind stopped and a loud huff came from behind him. Ichimaru's bangs had been tossed along his skin, tickling them slightly and was trying to straighten them out.

"You sure about this?" The ice prince asked, still worried about the asylum.

"Yep, going against the Midnight Moon literally means war in their sense." The owner reassured, continuing to flatten his messed up hair. "And don't worry; we've got a very powerful resources and people behind us."

Hitsugaya didn't _feel_ better; he just had a bad feeling, one that was clawing the back of his mind. His stomach felt sick and groaned. A hand started to ruffle his white locks and slowly, the ice prince slipped into a comfortable sensation. He leaned into it, the strong thin arms wrapping around his waist. Fuse disappeared back into the shop, probably to start reading again. 'We'll just have to wait and see.'

* * *

Okay, I finished this one up, I've forgotten how many chapters I have left but I'm getting closer to finishing this thingy at long last. Well, not really since this isn't really that that long unlike some fanfics I read, a couple of them are up to 50 chapters of more. I think I would lose myself sooner or later just trying to type all of that…

Sorry rambling. Anyway, thanks for reading, now review.


	12. Chapter 12

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** I'm now rushing in this. There are only two chapters or less left now depending on my mood!!

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* * *

**

Chapter 12

**A few days later**

Hitsugaya had gotten used to working with Ichimaru and had learned a few things in the process. The guy was _lazy_ in many ways, leaving more work for him but it wasn't as _bad_ as it had been back at the company. Plus, it wasn't as tense like the last environment either. He had finally been able to move in with the man after reassuring multiple times to Hinamori that he would be okay. It had taken quite a bit of convincing and even more to tell everyone _not_ to follow him to his new place so they could make sure he would be okay.

As he dusted the shelf carefully; he made sure it appeared spotless and ready for use and with watching his feet; he shifted to the next one. While he had been here, the cats of the store had grown fond of him, enough to make Petite jealous of them, though, he hardly noticed the little guy that hid in his clothes, not that he minded anymore. When he shifted his feet again, he felt multiple types of sensations brush against his legs and glanced down. It was the cats. He bent over then sat on the ground, allowing the creatures to jump on his shoulders and curl around him, rubbing against his cheeks, meowing. Gate crawled onto his chest and settled down, tail waging.

"Hey, there." Hitsugaya scratched the beast's head carefully and sudden jumped when he felt Petite crawl up his shirt and poke its head out the top. "You too."

The snake-like creature made a squeak, wrapping itself around his throat and fell back asleep. The cats meowed louder, wanting to have some attention, and Hitsugaya could only sigh, heading into the kitchen. "Alright, alright, you guys win. I'll get you your lunch."

As he entered the kitchen of the building, he suddenly stopped. If there was one thing he never thought Ichimaru would do, it would be cooking. Yes, Gin Ichimaru was at the stove, cooking lunch, how amazing was _that_? That said man noticed the new presence and the furry beings that were rubbing against his leg and turned.

"Oh, Snowy." He waved his boney fingers, trying to get the younger albino's attention. "You hungry?"

Hitsugaya had been so shocked that he had forgotten to snap back for the nickname. "You know how to cook?…Is it safe?"

Ichimaru raised an eyebrow at this. "Yeah, I know how to cook. Someone had to do it and yes, it's safe. Fuse can't cook; she doesn't really have taste buds for it so that leaves only me. I wished you know how to, that would make things easier."

"You're just trying to get out of work some more!" The ice prince cried back, storming in. "And a simple thing such as cooking isn't going to kill you!"

"Aw, Snowy is angry. Here, taste." The owner lifted the spatula off the pan, a few pieces of what looked like pasta on top. He raised it to the ice prince's lips, waiting for him to open up. Hitsugaya stared at the spatula before complying and sampled it as ordered.

"This is…quite good." The younger albino licked his lips at the flavor. He had to admit, the food tasted great. It wasn't like anything he had eaten before, not even when he had to go out for company dinners.

"Wonderful!" Ichimaru snuck around, putting down the utensil and turning off the heat. He picked up a glass of milk he had been drinking and then smirked when an idea suddenly popped into his head. Sipping on the white liquid while making sure he didn't swallow any it, he then grabbed Hitsugaya at the arm, pushing him forward. Their lips connected, the owner dominating the kiss instantly, bringing a hand up into the younger albino's hair. He lifted the head higher, making the ice prince open his mouth.

Hitsugaya felt a cool liquid drip into his mouth and chocked slightly as it went down his throat. He tried to resist, making little sounds of protest but couldn't. The grip on the back of his head was too tight and powerful. Giving in, he swallowed the milk, little droplets of it was tickling down the side of his mouth and to the chin where Ichimaru licked it off. Right afterwards, Hitsugaya raised a hand up and slapped the other along the head once released.

"Ow!" The taller man cried out, cradling his throbbing forehead. He innocently gazed back at the red-faced Hitsugaya and whined. "That hurts, you know."

"Be glad it wasn't a punch instead!" Hitsugaya shook his fist, calming his beating heart down and leaned against the counter top before sighing. During that process, a certain kitten had jumped upon the top during the commotion. Before the ice prince knew it, a large fur ball hit him at the chest, knocking him to the floor with a loud thump. The fur ball meowed, licking his cheeks where the leftover milk remained. The other cats joined in, savaging his face. He squirmed at the tickling feelings and almost started laughing, pushing each cat off one by one only to get replaced by another. "Ah! Stop that!"

Ichimaru was above, grinning, watching the cats tackle his young lover. Hitsugaya saw it and sneered. "H-Hey, what are y-you waiting for?! Help me out!"

"Alright, alright." The owner huffed, putting his hands on each side of his thighs. "Hey, come on, get up. Poor Snowy can't make you any food if you're on top of him like that. You can pester him later."

The cats complied, jumping off and wandered over to the fox-like grinning man. The younger albino sat up with his clothes and hair all messy and sighed again, this time in relief. He brought up his sleeves and rubbed the sensations on his skin off, the slobber as well.

"Ichimaru, you got too many pets, you know that."

* * *

Hitsugaya _hated_ hot days where the sun was beaming down on him and made him feel all sweaty and heavy. It was something he _despised_. He rose up a hand to shield his eyes, glancing around the area. Gate was on his shoulder, groaning about the heat as well while Petite was tucked away somewhere. He stepped into a park, not the same one as before when he had been attacked, and momentarily looked into the sky. A sea of gray clouds was making its way over but not fast enough to cover the blue. He had come out for a walk but he was quickly regretting it. He was near his old company and could see the tall building towering over the trees, the windows reflecting the sunlight. The furry beast to his side grew uncomfortable at something, grumbling and licked his cheek to get his attention.

"What is it?" Hitsugaya patted the creature softly on the head, rubbing the tender spot. Gate didn't purr into the touch which was unusual. The ice prince took note of that. "What's wrong?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

The albino flinched, he hadn't been expecting _anyone_. How could someone sneak up to him without noticing at all? He grounded his teeth together and turned around to see a middle-aged man with short brown hair that was pulled back with a single bang on the forehead. He had a smile, one that Hitsugaya didn't like though it appeared extremely kind and gentle. The ice prince noted that not too far away was another man with dark skin and had something covering the eyes. He paused in answering but did reply after awhile. "Yes?"

"Ah, I need some directions, would you be kind enough to help me?" The man smiled again, tilting his head. Gate, who was still on his shoulder, hissed but it didn't seem to be aimed at the person.

Hitsugaya hesitated. "Sure…where are you heading to?"

"Seireitei." The man leaned forward since he was must taller than the albino. "Oh and I'm Aizen Sousuke. The man over there is my bodyguard, Touson."

"Hitsugaya." He tried to act pleasant and then shifted to the side. "If you want to know, Seireitei is right over there, its one of the biggest buildings in town. Why are you heading there?"

"I have some unfinished business left with that place."

"I see."

"Well, anyway, thanks kid." Aizen waved his hand lightly.

"I'm not a kid, I'm already eighteen!" Hitsugaya cried back in rage.

Aizen blinked. "But that's not what it looks like to me." The man's expression suddenly turned into a mixture of seriousness and surprise.

There was a call from behind, from that Touson guy, who was running forward. "Behind you!"

Before Hitsugaya even managed to turn around, something hard slammed into the back of his head. He felt his vision go black and fell into something rough below. Voices were calling out to him and there were numerous of footsteps.

And then he lost consciousness.

* * *

I shortened this considerately, no _majority_. It was originally supposed to be two chapters long but it was made into one with a few pages. I'm only doing this because I didn't get very many reviews and that I was really pissed off. Sorry about that. :P


	13. Chapter 13

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** I lied; there are actually two chapters left!

**

* * *

**

Chapter 13

He didn't want to come back here. He didn't even want to see this place ever again. To this lonely deserted place where nothing but pain and torture existed together as one to torment all those that were inside. It was a nightmare that continued to grow and haunt him and now he was stuck in it without the comfort of Ichimaru next to him to get him through it. Hitsugaya gazed around the cell, his eyes trying to catch anything in the darkness but he couldn't, there was just no light at all. He couldn't tell where the exit was at in the first place nor could he see his hands even when he felt the warmth brush across his face. His ice abilities were condensed, useless in this type of cage that was rigged with some kind of magical barrier, and then the light suddenly opened to the side. He was blinded for a moment, bringing up his hands to cover his face. A shadow appeared behind him, his own outline, and then a face appeared through the hole. An old rage, one he had felt long ago, came to life within him and burned inside. His fists squeezed tightly and his eyes narrowed.

"Hello, my little ice prince, how nice of you to return back to me." The voice teased, grinning wildly like some mad man.

"I didn't return to you, you _kidnapped_ me!" Hitsugaya scolded, tempted to throw anything or something at the face and its malevolence smile.

"Now, now, be a good little boy. No one is going to come for you."

"Even the Midnight Moon?" He tested, eyes glowing.

"Maybe, maybe not." The man giggled, not caring, he had what he wanted already.

Hitsugaya paused, letting a silence come between them before standing up from the floor. He needed to know about something. "Can I ask you a question? What happened to the last asylum? Why were we all let free?"

"Someone destroyed it." It sounded like an obvious answer.

"By who?"

"How should I know? Someone did and when I find that person, I'll kill them. It took me years to get you all, that bastard destroyed my research, my previous research. I'll get the man that did such a thing." The scientist cried running off, screaming about something that Hitsugaya wasn't sure about. He rushed up to the window, peeking through since it had been left open. He could see a metal door on the other side and numbers running to the next to the side. Hitsugaya abruptly felt a chill and it wasn't the good kind. He recognized this sensation, it was a presence but it was dead yet at the same time wasn't. His emerald eyes could see some movement down the hallway, some kind of shuffling. It was loud and clear, it was like something was getting dragged down the hallway, pulled and tugged repeatedly. A set of footsteps echoed and the sounds of scratching against the metal walls came to his room. Another shiver went down his spine as the screeching pierced his ears. It hurt so badly he had to cover them.

"W-Who's there?" He called out, his eyes peeking through the hole. The sounds stopped but the breathing was still echoed loudly. It seemed to have gotten closer. The scratching noise came back, nails scraping along the wall, a soft giggle replaced the breathing. Hitsugaya hesitated in calling out again, afraid of meeting this…this creature.

He backed away.

Something was coming.

A finger crawled into the hole, it was pale, pure white, and the nails were dyed a deep red with the underneath black and dirty. The red color was literally dripping off the finger, falling down the door in thin lines that seemed like veins. A head slowly appeared, the black hair covering up the entire face. The strands moved, an eye emerging through the darkness and Hitsugaya froze, his body tensing up. A gasp came from the woman and then a crushing groan. The eye stared, it was smiling and _that_ scared him.

"Ichimaru." He whispered without knowing, backing up to the other side of the wall. "Where are you, Ichimaru?"

A squeak came from his neck and the warmth of Petite stopped him from falling anymore to the woman's looks. He reached up, patting the little beast that was growling loudly. Petite unwrapped itself, sliding off the collar like a snake, snarling at the ghost.

The woman faltered at the sight, pulling its finger back and receded away. The hair twirled and twisted and shifted to the side, walking away, heading to the next room or victim. Hitsugaya let out a sigh of relief, stroking the fox/snake thing on the head. "Thanks."

It responded with a squeak.

A smile came next and Hitsugaya lay back down on the cold floor. He was tired, his neck was still aching and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

He didn't know how long he had been here but all he had been doing was sleep, that was it. Sometimes the ghostly woman would appear again, watching through the eye hole but she never attacked. She didn't look scared anymore but that was all she ever did. Staring up at the ceiling, he lifted up a hand to his forehead. It was lonely, there was no one really to talk to maybe except for Petite but he never could reply in English/Japanese. The darkness didn't look so bad anymore, it seemed as if it was now welcoming him, comforting him. There were sounds from outside, people's voices only to be silenced moments later by something else. He didn't know what and he didn't want to find out. Everything was quiet and he curled up in a corner far away from the door. It was cold even though he was the ice prince. It was too cold for him to take. His hands were shivering and his legs were shaking. Petite tried to help him keep warm but what could a small body do. The hours he stayed here seemed longer and he had finally lost track of everything. He missed Ichimaru, his heart almost hurting itself. He wanted to see that creepy smile even though he hated it. He wanted to feel warmth on his body, anything to make sure that he could still feel.

His emerald eyes gazed up.

The woman was back.

Hitsugaya stood up from his spot, waving the person inside. He had nothing better to do. "Come in. Can you talk?" He asked, sitting back down to see what the ghost would do. She giggled, tilting her head to the side and passed through the metal door with no trouble. Her body, her legs mostly, was mostly transparent, and she seemed to limp. He saw the broken leg and the busted up feet from below the white dress. Blood trailed down it and she slumped to the ground, the black hair spreading around her body as if it was water. The one eye was staring at him with such intensity that he was afraid that he might panic again. Petite sprawled to life, growling but when Hitsugaya patted it, the beast calmed down.

He tried again. "Can you talk?"

The stands along the mouth spread apart slightly, her lips moved. "Yes." It was a whisper with a crackly accent in it.

"Good, who are you?"

"Me?" She groaned. "I'm no one."

"That's not a name." Hitsugaya scowled, he felt better now that they were talking than staring like before.

"No, I'm just a nobody, a no one, a person you shouldn't concern yourself with. A being that's been drowned into darkness." The woman's eye disappeared behind the sea of black, at least she wasn't smiling, that might have been bad. Her white dress was sliding down her legs, covering up her disgusting form. She stood up, wandering around the room, her hair flipping around, twirling in circles. Her legs limped and snapped at each step, dragging her feet, and finally left the room.

Hitsugaya sighed, curling back up again.

* * *

"Hey, Petite, do you think they'll come for me?" He asked suddenly, there was nothing better to do then to speak at the wall or to the fox-snake thing. The little creature blinked its bony eyes and shook its head up and down.

"I see." Hitsugaya sighed then picked his head up when he suddenly heard some screams, shouts from the distance. He stood up, curious about what was happening outside. The ground started shaking so violently that he had to hold onto the door to keep himself up. Because of the weakness of his body, his legs buckled and he collapsed to the floor. It must been days since he arrived here. His knees dug into the metal ground, flinching at the pain that echoed in his bones. When the shaking stopped, Hitsugaya picked himself back up, Petite peeking out from his shirt. The shouts were getting louder and then there were explosions all over the place. He could feel the vibrations and the rattle of them. Hitsugaya felt himself smiling, they were coming…

The shouts got closer and then there was one set of feet that was running closer than all the others. Petite started pulling at his neck, yanking him back. Hitsugaya followed, leaning against the back wall. The cold feeling of the metal seeped into his clothes and he heard something tapping against the metal outside. Another explosion came soon after, smoke going through the little hole and a voice called out.

"Snowy! Ya there!?"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "Ichimaru!"

There was a loud shuffle and the door to his room was knocked down. It slammed loudly on the floor, the smoke and dust poured into the room quickly. Hitsugaya coughed and covered his eyes and face, trying to prevent any of it from choking him. Slowly, the mess cleared and in it stood Ichimaru. The older man's expression changed from fear to relief, rushing forward to wrap his arms around the younger white-haired man. Burying his face into the neck, he squeezed tightly as if afraid that the other might vanish again.

"Ichimaru, I'm okay." The ice prince muttered, returning the hug and sighed, shifting around. He felt himself pulled forward and then something soft on his lips. Hitsugaya's eyes widened at the touch but quickly returned the kiss with little doubt. He felt happy, truly happy, he would have cried if he allowed himself too.

"Do you know how worried I was?" Ichimaru pouted, rubbing the white spiky hair. He was grinning but he didn't have a single cut on himself after all those flying debris that came after an explosion. The shouts were still going on in the background and it seemed to be dying out with speed. "They haven't hurt ya, have they?"

"No, they just left me in here. How did you find me? I thought that perhaps you had…" He trailed off, unwilling to continue.

Ichimaru kissed the forehead, calming the other down. "The Midnight Moon helped us, seeking out all their connections. Apparently they asked their best information collection service Urahara and Yuko from a shop similar like mine except they sell candy. They found you in a day but we couldn't act just yet until all our forces were together for an attack. Also on that same day you were taken, two men came in, telling us what had happened. Ya had luckily dropped one of my business cards so I was able to immediately send for help. Aren't ya lucky?"

"Wait, do you mean Aizen?" Hitsugaya's eyes widened even more than before. He hadn't expected the older man to help him.

"Yeah, that's him. They helped fight off the men but sadly lost sight of ya during the fight." Ichimaru explained, lifting a finger up to his chin as if deep in thought. "After that, things got really bad."

Hitsugaya leaned forward, Ichimaru was warm not like the air the surrounded him. It felt good and he leaned into it. Ichimaru huffed, rubbing the back tenderly, comforting the younger man. He happened to be wearing a coat and yanked it off, wrapping it over Hitsugaya. "Here, Snowy, now ya'll be warm now."

"It's Hitsugaya." He snarled instantly, bundling up in the coat.

"Now, let's get ya out of here before anything else can happen." Ichimaru smiled, it was a gentle one, one that Hitsugaya rarely saw. He couldn't explain the over welling joy of actually seeing such a beauty. The older albino noticed the stare and smirked, capturing the lips gracefully. His hands held tighter on the chibi, lifting him up. When they pulled away, Ichimaru licked his lips, taking ice price's hand into his own. "Come on."

As they turned to the door, they froze, Ichimaru stepping in front of the other protectively. There before them was a mid-aged man with a cruel smile. His face all white with powder. He was grinning widely and Hitsugaya recognized it from the peep hole. It was the man that had made the plans, the scientist that used people like him as mere toys. The man lifted up his hand and waved. "Hello boys and welcome back."

* * *

Ahaha, cliffhanger! Sorry for the long delay! Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** I'm still adding things so really I'm not sure how many chapters are left but I got the next one almost done. Sorry for any mistakes since no one is beta'ing for me at the moment, my friend is too busy with school. If there is anyone that would like to, please message me.

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Chapter 14

"Hello boys and welcome back." The man leered happily, standing in the doorway, blocking their only escape. His crazy grin and white teeth was shining in the darkness and had his head tilted to the side.

The two tensed up instantly, they both knew this man from long ago, a person they all wished was dead. The mad scientist, the one that had placed them here in the first place and had kidnapped Hitsugaya into this hell hole, was standing right in front. The ice prince, not thinking, gripped into Ichimaru's clothes, tugging hard as if afraid. The older albino growled, opening his closed slits for a moment to glare. The red eyes were burning in rage. How had the man known they would be here or the fact that he gotten here so fast? He couldn't have known about their plans…

Mayuri grinned, stepping forward, hands in his pocket, reaching for something. His eyes stared at the two with a sick expression. Hitsugaya felt his heart stop, his breath catching in his throat. Then suddenly he squeezed his fists, he wasn't going to give in, not yet, not when he had finally gotten Ichimaru by his side. The air grew cold, he was sending a warning, a dangerous and deadly one that most people or creatures would be afraid of. But Mayuri wasn't affected, he kept on coming. Ichimaru's grasp was firm on the chibi, unwilling to let go and back up in return to the steps of the scientist. The enemy glanced between the two in awe. "Isn't that sweet, are you two a couple of something? Interesting, interesting…"

Ichimaru's eyebrow tilted downward, reaching into his sleeves, drawing out his cards. "Move…" His voice held none of his usual friendly tone, it wasn't teasing or anything, and it cut through the air. He was ready to kill if pushed.

"Why would I do that? You're my experiments, my precious research subjects. I need you to stay here…forever." Mayuri sneered, he had noticed the weapons and drew out his own for protection, after all, he knew well enough that these people he experimented on were dangerous. A blade with a twisted face appeared in his hands, swinging it around with ease. He grumbled to himself, the barrier in keeping everyone's abilities cut off had been destroyed in the explosion and it gave him a slight disadvantage, however, he knew how many of them fought. He had seen it far too many times except for one. His sharp and calculating eyes turned to Icihmaru, he had never really gotten a response out of that one, no matter how many times he had used his…methods. The man had kept his calm and smiled lopsidedly the entire time during the procedure. His glare turned into a happy one at realizing something. Maybe if he managed to make the little one scream, would he see something that was buried deep within? He grinned at the thought.

The two, unaware of the thoughts, could feel the power echoing from the blade itself but they retained their calm. Hitsugaya reached up and grabbed the back of Ichimaru's sleeve again as if giving him hope. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, filling his lungs of the icy oxygen. When he had his fill, he exhaled, releasing all the tension that had built up in his body. Pulling himself away from the older albino, he made ice surround his right hand, encasing it. The coldness wasn't affecting him, instead he welcomed it. "Let's get this over with, Mayuri. This will be you last day."

The man just laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "Just try." Dashing forward, he went straight at Hitsugaya with blood lust shining in his eyes, momentarily forgetting about the other person in the room. Before he could swing his sword, something tapped him on the side. Ichimaru grinned, his card slapping onto Mayuri's stomach. An explosion occurred next, sending the enemy into a wall on the opposite side. Hitsugaya spent that moment of stillness in icing the floor below before rushing forward, bringing up his ice blade and tried to pierce the man at the chest to end the fight. But a kick out of nowhere forced him to stop his movement to protect himself. His emerald pools glared at the person that dare come in front of him and they rested on a woman, Nemu, Mayuri's daughter, and they hardened. He wasn't going to let anyone get in his way, not after coming this far.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you kill him." Nemu muttered, jumping back to her father's side. She had that blank stare, one the ice prince hated, he felt his blood, which was frozen, start to boil dangerously.

"Well I'll have to apologize in advance." Ichimaru cut in, patting Hitsugaya on the shoulder, calming the raging albino down. "We'll be leaving but, of course, your father isn't going to allow that. If he comes after us, don't be mad when I kill him."

"Kill me?" Mayuri objected, standing back up, looking unaffected by such a trick. "That won't be happening today." He dusted himself off of particles that had been caught on his clothes and pushed Nemu aside as if he was disappointed. The sword seemed to have changed shape during that time and the two albinos noted it instantly, going into a defensive mode. Ichimaru surrounded himself and Hitsugaya with multiple cards, dancing around them protectively. "And what would that do? Blow me away?"

"No, just a protective measure. But let's get back onto business." Ichimaru threw a few cards at the family, separating them. Nemu shot a knife from her sleeve and Hitsugaya, who was being targeted, jumped back. He swung his blade to get her further away but missed.

"How do you like my daughter? I modified her to be able to do almost anything." Mayuri swung his sword down onto Hitsugaya's head, who dodged by rolling to the side and then blocked the next swing. Ichimaru covered his back when Nemu tried to send a thunder spell. "Even magic see?"

The red-eyed man spent no time in speeding across the area and slamming one of his cards into the girl's stomach, slamming her back into the metal wall. A loud crack could be heard and she slumped down, head flopped forward. That moment was short lived as a bottle rolled out from her sleeve, exploding in the center and covered the room in a thick smoke. Hitsugaya reacted, using his ice to create a barrier around himself and Ichimaru. When it cleared, the two family members were at the entrance again, blocking it.

The scientist huffed, striking Ichimaru, who avoided by jumping to the side and ducked the next attack. Another swing came and this time he used his cards as a sheild, red sparks fluttering from the meeting. Ichimaru nodded to Hitsugaya, who rushed forward to strike at the man but Mayuri had seen this coming and pulled out a bottle from his own clothes, tossing it over. The moment it crashed, smoke filled the area once more and forced Hitsugaya cover his eyes from the screen, coughing at the mist that had gotten into his lungs. He took a few steps back to clear his airways.

"Ichimaru?" He called out. There were more clashes inside the smoke, sparks flying all around. Hitsugaya wanted to attack but he couldn't figure out who was the enemy and who wasn't. The ice prince growled, closing his eyes and twisted his fingers. The air grew cold once more but this time the walls froze over, ice crawling over them. He made it thicker and slowly it grew onto anything it touched. The air condensed into a thick mist and Hitsagaya used that to see into the smoke, spotting the two in the center. Just as he was about to run forward to help, Mayuri pulled back, reaching into his pocket again. This time he grabbed something that looked like a bomb.

"Yes I'll kill you all here right now with little trouble. You're not worth being test subjects anymore. I've just had enough." Mayuri laughed, tossing it before anyone could react. A portal opened before them and a man strolled out as if nothing was wrong, his eyes resting on the small flying bomb. Hitsugaya instantly recognized the person.

"Byukaya?!" He cried out as the said man raised his hand. The portal behind him closed and another one opened in front, sucking the bomb inside. It closed immediately afterwards, there was no explosion, no nothing. They released a sigh of relief all except for the scientist, who was stomping the ground in annoyance. He too had recognized the other man from long ago.

"So you're returned as well." Mayuri sneered, glaring coldly at the man. "A person that's able to open and close dimensional portals at will as well as use illusions." The eyes narrowed, knowing that the newcomer would mean more trouble. The group glared at the scientist in hatred, enough to send almost anyone to their death. Hitsugaya mouthed a 'thank you' in the black-haired man's direction and Ichimaru nodded. Byukaya just stared but they could tell he was saying 'you're welcome' inside. They remained still, unforeseen that Nemu was slowly sneaking up behind them. Mayuri grinned when she was in position. "Nemu, now!"

The group jumped and turned their attention to the other person in the room but it was already too late.

"Yes, father." Nemu nodded, pulling out two blades that looked familiarly like Mayuri's. She had her eyes set on two people, the ones she had calculated as the most dangerous. Her mind had already seen what would happen, the two wouldn't be able to dodge after being backed up or were there any spaces to jump around in this tiny room.

She made her move and two sickening cracks echoed through the room.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened and let out a cry, his hand reaching out. "Ichimaru!"

He watched as the blade stabbed through the chest cavity, breaking through the protection seals that were dancing around the body. The cards stopped glowing and fell to the ground. He could see the red eyes widening in shock and turn to him. A smile was dancing on his features and even as blood flowed from the mouth, he whispered some words that were unheard. Hitsugaya couldn't hear them, he had fallen into shock, and all sounds escaped his ears. And the sight of Byukaya getting hit at the side and pinned to the metal wall, made his blood freeze. He felt something coming, not from outside but within.

A purple flame appeared inside his mind.

He felt his body run cold, his fists squeezing tightly to control it. His emerald eyes glowed in a blue hue and a small breeze formed around him. Nemu coughed, her skin turning blue and retracted her hands, dropping the swords instantly to stare at her flesh. It was cold, her breath was foggy and she shivered. Her lips turned purple and her fingers couldn't move, she couldn't even bend them. And all a while, Mayuri was watching in awe, observing the process.

"Die, you bitch!"

Nemu chocked, feeling something inside sprout out. Blades of ice stabbed from her skin in seconds, blood poured freely and then she fell with a splat. The light in her eyes disappeared, the beating of her heart stilled, frozen solid. The ice had all but mutated her beyond reorganization. Hitsugaya turned his attention to the last person in the room, his eyes still glowing. Byukaya watched from the side but was unable to do anything since the sword was still strapped to his body. Suddenly, things stared moving, the fog started to reappear again. Objects were shifting backwards, most of them, and the two swords pulled back with wounds healing and closing. Nemu remained unaffected, her hair twirling and covered in blood that was seeping out into a puddle. Ichimaru gasped out loud and was pulled back into standing, Byukaya as well.

Hitsugaya didn't stop there, his eyebrows narrowing, glaring. Ice, no, snow started falling out of thin air. As it touched the ground, it sprouted upward like a flower, growing rapidly, encasing Mayuri's feet. It slowly went up as the man stared amusingly at this new development. He did nothing to fight the attack off and the flowers grew rapidly, speeding up every second. Ichimaru called out to Hitsugaya but he didn't hear it instead the ice continued to grow. It covered the enemy completely until he knew for sure that the man was dead. Mayuri was inside the pillar and it broke into multiple pieces, shattering the body inside.

The energy he had been releasing stopped as the flame flickered and died away. Taking a deep breath, he felt the world spinning in his vision before falling back and landed into warm arms that prevented him from touching the ground. His emerald pools glanced at Ichimaru and smiled, unable to see neither the worried expression nor the face. Byukaya was at his side, examining him over with light feather touches, searching for any wounds. But the world went black and he fell limply in Ichimaru's arms. His breaths were thinning and then finally stopped.

"Snowy!"

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Ah, cliffhanger, another one. Please review, I'll keep repeating that phrase for a long time. (Smirks)


	15. Chapter 15

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A:** Since some people were asking here is Hitsugaya's past. Still no beta, still looking for one

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Chapter 15

_Nothing has changed._

_Nothing ever had._

"Out of the way, filth!"

Hitsugaya was pushed roughly to the side, his eyes flashing with hatred. He glared at the man to make a retort but then looked down at himself. He was covered in rags and his previous clothes from the asylum were gone replaced with something that was just the same. It made him feel better but people would never accept him dressed like this. People stared, throwing insults, and pushed him around like a doll. He knew he was short for his age but that didn't give them any excuse for their maltreatment. Grinding his teeth together to keep quiet, Hitsugaya stomped away into a dark alley, covering his body up in the rags to keep warm. Even though he had the power over ice, he still got cold even temperatures dropped too low. He blended in with the other beggars but he never actually begged, no, he was too proud to do that. He had other things he could do. His eyes landed on the person that had pushed him in the distance and followed quietly, hiding in the darkness, and when the stranger went into a back way, muttering about being late to work and wanting to take a shortcut, Hitsugaya found his target. He rushed in to follow, quickly bypassing the man and sent a cold burst of air to force the man to freeze into place and rub his arms to keep warm.

"What the? Where'd that wind come from?" The man whispered and glanced around before shrugging his shoulders and went back to walking. He could already see the light at the end of the pathway and hurried towards it only to have a shadow step in front, blocking the way. He narrowed his eyes, recognizing the person from moments ago. "Hey, out of the way."

"Hand over anything of value." Hitsugaya stated with ease. He was used to this kind of work.

The man blinked but didn't take it serious, after all, the ice prince looked like a kid. "Stop with the pranks, kid. Now move."

Hitsugaya didn't, he remained still and glared with those icy eyes as if warning. "If you don't hand it over, you won't be making it out of here alive." He raised his hand and the air condensed thickly.

"Bullshit!"

The albino sighed, knowing he would have to do it. He could not let anyone go free after seeing his powers, he wasn't normal after all. But it was either killing or whoring himself out and he refused to the last option, it was so degrading in his mind. "I see."

Hitsugaya spent no time in conjuring up a blade of ice and flew forward, stabbing the man in the chest, careful to not to go all the way through to the other side. The person didn't even have time to scream nor could he afterwards. The ice slipped into his lungs, filling it with life's precious liquid and twitched until death. The ice prince yanked his arm out and turned away as the corpse fell to the ground with a sickening splat. He bended over, running his hands over the expensive clothes and grabbed the jacket, a watch, a couple of jewelry, and the wallet before running off. He blended back into the streets, covering his prize with his clock and sprinted into a secure spot far away. Hitsugaya disappeared into the trees and when he knew he was safe, looked over what he had gotten. First, he unclothed himself and put on the jacket, feeling the warmth seep into his body before positioning the clock back on. It wouldn't be good to see a kid wearing a luxurious piece of cloth, it was suspicious. Then he messed with the wallet, taking out the cash that was inside and then went over the cards. Most of them were credit cards with one debit. These wouldn't help him since he didn't know that much about them in the first place. But he was happy with the cash. The jewelry he could sell and the watch, as he looked at it, he decided that it looked nice and placed it inside his pocket to keep.

"Not bad for today…"

He snuggled into his clothes for warmth and leaned against the branches to get comfortable before slowly dozing off for some rest.

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Months passed and he continued the same cycle, killing, stealing, anything that would get him money. He would like to avoid murder but sometimes he knew he had no choice if he wanted to survive. Anyone who saw his powers would have to go, no survivors. Sometimes he could see those he killed on TV, especially the rich ones but it never bothered him. No one has ever gone after him and none would come now.

Sometimes, he would wear the clothes he had stolen and ponder down the street to look normal and every once in a while, he would enter a restaurant and give himself a treat. That only came after getting a big wad of cash but he never spent much. He knew how to keep himself clean, how to brush his teeth and get his hair normal. Sometimes he would have to break into houses to take food, jewelry, cash, and he was good at finding which one was the best. He didn't care anymore about his life, he just had to live.

People from organizations tried to drag him out from his homeless lifestyle without knowing a thing about what he did and try to get him handed over to foster parents. However, that never happened, no one wanted a freak and he would run away every time. Soon they stopped, they stopped caring about him. There were a few things he would never do, like drugs or cigarettes, he couldn't afford them and he didn't want them. He still remembers all those teaching from school from long ago. Memories of his past, of his life before the asylum, came back to him but those had slipped from his grasp and he never bother going after them.

Now that he thought about it, he wanted to go back to school. But he didn't know how. Would they let him, a dirty boy, in or would they laugh in his face and kick him away?

Sometimes he would go to the library to read anything to kill time and make it pass faster.

One day, Hitsugaya collapsed to the ground, folding himself up. He was hungry, he had nothing to eat today and for the past few weeks. People nowadays were carrying weapons, knifes, guns, and there were more cops out. He couldn't attack without getting found out. His stomach growled.

"Hey, do you need help?" A voice called out to him. It was female, one he had heard long ago but couldn't place it. Hitsugaya looked up from his place where he had wrapped himself in. He saw a girl with black hair tied up in a bun and friendly bright eyes. The person blinked when she was able to get a good look over him and smiled. "Whitey-chan!"

Hitsugaya tilted his head in confusion. 'Is she…talking to me?'

"Whitey-chan, that's you right? Don't you remember me? I'm your friend when you were younger, we were neighbors." She smiled.

'What's her name? I don't remember…' Hitsugaya thought deeply.

"It's me, Hinamori. Remember?" The girl gave another beam and outstretched her hand as if waiting for him to take it. The ice prince thought deeply before reaching out, grasping it. He tried to return the girl's smile but his lips wouldn't move into the shape, he doesn't remember how to. "Come on, I'll take you to my place. You can stay there. Where's your mom and dad?"

"Dead…" He whispered low enough but Hinamori caught it. She gave this horrified look before replacing it with determination.

"Then you can come and stay with me as long as you want, I'll keep you safe with my family. They'll take you in. You'll have a good home, nice and warm. Come on."

Hitsugaya hesitated before glancing to the side into the darkness of the alley. It was either stay here in the cold or go into the light where it was hot. He sighed, he should know which one was the most logical choice and picked himself up. "Okay…Hinamori."

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There finished. I'm getting started on the next chapter of the continuation of the 14th chapter. I cut you guys off huh. Hope this fulfilled some of those that wanted to know about Hitsugaya.


	16. Chapter 16

**Title:** **The Return**

**By:** Metamorcy

**Rating:** M

**Pairing:** Hitsugaya x Ichimaru, Ichigo x Hichigo, Grimmjow x Ulquiorra

**Summary:** Hitsugaya's dark past in placed dreams; a deep love for a person he can no longer remember the name to haunts him in the present. But his problems with the past are catching up and Ichimaru isn't helping. AU

**Disclaimer:** don't own Bleach

**N/A: Yes! We're finally down to the last chapter! Happy me!**

This has been beta'd by tokyomewmewlvr.

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Chapter 16

"Ugh!" Hitsugaya opened his eyes and instantly shielded them from the bright light. He grumbled, every bone in his body was creaking and he was definitely in pain. The light didn't help as it did nothing but blind him but it faded after a few moments. He slowly sat up, glancing around the room, waiting for the spots to disappear.

"Snowy?" A voice called out groggily and from beside him. The sheets ruffled around him as a body moved, a head lifting up. Hitsugaya glanced over, his eyes blinked at the sleeping person, who was lying on the bed but was now stirring awake. Ichimaru took one look at Hitsugaya and froze, his mouth slightly open before jumping the still-aching ice prince.

"Ah!" The smaller albino cried out, slamming his back onto the bed at the force as two arms wrapped around his waist. Ichimaru's face was buried into the crook of his neck and his fingers clenched down harder as if trying to make sure that the person in front wasn't an illusion. Hitsugaya paused. Ichimaru was just holding him, the man wasn't doing anything else, nothing perverted either. Hesitatingly, he wrapped his arms around, gripping the other tightly.

"You're awake!" Ichimaru muttered against the ice prince's right ear, his warm breath running over the skin. Hitsugaya raised up a hand to run his fingers into the white locks, brushing them gently. He felt the silky hair run through easily, trying to calm the older man. He had never seen Ichimaru this panicky before. It was so…strange. Finally, the older albino retracted back, staring at the ice prince with a smile. "You're finally awake, I was really…worried."

"Woke up?" Hitsugaya glanced around the room, they were the only ones inside. "What happened?"

"Oh, that's right, you fainted right after…Well, you must remember killing Mayuri and Nemu." Ichimaru muttered to himself, his mind going back over the events that had happened. "Afterwards, you were out cold while the entire army stormed the asylum and destroyed everything they could find. All the records and databases were burned down so that no one could ever use them or find any of us again. Everyone that had been kidnapped was freed and allowed to go back home. All the men that had been working for Mayuri were killed while some were taken by the Midnight Moon gang for them to interrogate. Some managed to escape but they are currently getting hunted down, apparently the same way as they had done to everyone to get their revenge."

"How long have I been out? And what about you and Byakuya's wounds?" Hitsugaya jumped, grabbing onto Ichimaru's shirt and let his hands run over the chest. He felt for those stabs from before but there was nothing, nothing at all, not even a scratch.

"I'm sure you didn't realize you used time magic on us. You reversed time on the wounds we had, it was as if it had never happened. Afterwards you used ice magic to freeze the insides of Nemu and the outside of Mayuri." Ichimaru paused, pushing away a loose strand of white hair from Hitsugaya's forehead. "Using time magic puts a lot of strain on a body and you used quite a bit of it on your first try. You were out cold for a week, I'm amazed you didn't fall into a permanent coma like most people do." There was no longer any expression on his face, he was depressed but happy as well that he had the ice prince back in his arms.

"A week?! Are you joking? I fell into a coma?"

"Yeah, you really scared me."

Abruptly, the door opened with Fuse stepping in, the animals in her hands. Her face didn't change when she saw Hitsugaya up and just nodded in his direction. The animals ran around, jumping onto the bed and instantly attacked the younger albino. They made happy sounds and wagged their tails in excitement. Hitsugaya patted the heads and felt them purr against his touches. Ichimaru smiled gently and helped out in keeping the animals occupied.

Fuse went forward to the bed side and leaned over. "It is good to see you about. I'll go call everyone and tell them that you're alright. Excuse me." She stepped back, about to exit when she hesitated. Her eyes looked over the group before her and sighed. "Now guys, leave them alone for now. They need some privacy."

The animals, all of them, paused, looking at their master and his lover then to Fuse. Slowly, they went towards the door, exiting out. The woman looked over the two and closed the door shut. Hitsugaya's attention didn't remain on her long as he was suddenly pushed down onto the bed. He grunted at the force but his crash wasn't that painful as he landed on a pillow.

"I-Ichimaru! Get off!" Hitsugaya cried out, about to start kicking his legs, but Ichimaru stopped that by placing his entire body on top. He used his weight to his advantage and smiled slyly. Then he leaned forward, pressing their lips together. Hitsugaya squeezed his fists, feeling the tongue lick across his lips, asking for entrance. For a moment, he thought about biting it but decided against it and opened up his mouth to allow entrance. The tongue entered and he moaned gently as it massaged against his own. Ichimaru reached forward, running his fingers through the white hair.

The ice prince moaned louder and reached around to wrap his fingers into the shoulders, clenching the clothes. He twitched when he felt the cold hands going down and down to the point they touched his pants and broke the kiss. "Ichimaru, that's enough! Let go!"

Ichimaru pulled back but didn't let do. He had a grin on his face and nuzzled into the other's neck, taking a deep breath. "Just let me hold onto you a little longer."

Hitsugaya sighed and relaxed into the touch. But as he stared at his lover, a thought came into his mind. "Hey, I need to tell you something."

"What?" The owner was a little curious, shifting upward to get closer. Suddenly, two hands reached up, moving underneath Ichimaru's chest and pushed, _hard_. The older albino let out a startled yelp, landing right next to Hitsugaya face first into the pillow. He turned over the moment he felt a weight resting on his waist, pinning him down to the bed. "Oh, dear, this isn't good." He didn't seem trouble about the positions at all and just chuckled. His closed red eyes watched Hitsugaya with interest, who was smiling. The ice prince rubbed his legs against the middle section and grinned in victory when he saw Ichimaru glimpsed.

Though his face remained the same, inside he hated this position. "Um…Snowy, I don't really like being on the bottom."

"Well that's too bad. Think of it as a new experience." Hitsugaya leaned over, crushing their lips and hips together. His tongue rolled over the other and smiled into the kiss, this was probably the first time he had ever seen Ichimaru in this position. It was probably his last too knowing the older man. He had forgotten to hold his grip on the arms and released them for a moment. That led to his downfall. For the second he had relaxed, Ichimaru sprang into action. Hitsugaya let out a squawk and growled at the other. His eyebrow twitched. Their positions were switched. "Ichimaru…"

The owner of the building just continued to grin, opening his eyes up momentarily. The red gaze was almost memorizing if Hitsugaya hadn't resisted. "You can't beat me down that easily. I know you better than you know me."

Hitsugaya twitched again, Ichimaru had hit a bull's eye but he was never going to admit that.

"To think, I could get you this psyched up, I should have done this sooner." Ichimaru leaned forward, taking Hitsugaya's breath away.

The ice prince chuckled quietly and relaxed, perhaps letting Ichimaru have his fun wouldn't be too bad. After all, the man had taken care of him while he was unconscious. It was time to reward him. He closed his eyes and drifted into the touches.

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A month later

It was a bright sunny day and Hitsugaya was sweeping near the front door outside, cleaning the usual dust and perhaps dirt. His broom moved sideways in his hands, staring down at the ground. He heard two sets of footsteps coming down the street, at first he ignored it, thinking that it was some person on a walk but he couldn't ignore the voices. They sounded so familiar that he had to glance up from his work to stare at the two. He recognized the teal-colored hair and then the black-haired one.

"Sweeping?" Grimmjow asked, raising an eyebrow. The two paused in front of the shop.

"Someone has to do it." The ice prince grumbled, getting back to work, he was almost done. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, actually you can." Ulquiorra stepped forward, pulling out a small box, a package perhaps. "Please deliver this to Ichimaru. And also, I have a message from the lady. She said that the exchange for the flame has been completed."

Hitsugaya blinked and reached out with one hand to take the box. "What do you mean?" He looked down to observe the item then went back to the two. "Does she mean that purple flame she put inside my body?"

Ulquiorra nodded. "We do not know the details, only she does."

"But I doubt you'll be getting any information from her though." Grimmjow grumbled. "She doesn't talk much about things unless it's necessary."

"I see, well, thanks." Hitsugaya looked a little dejected by that response but he had already seen Silrin a week ago, she wasn't much of a talker on any subject.

"Well then, see you." The stoic man nodded, heading off down the road with Grimmjow behind, who was grumbling about something. Hitsugaya watched them disappear down the street and went back to the box. Shaking it a little, he shrugged his shoulders, going inside and placed the broom against the wall. As he went closer to the front, Gate and Petite ran around his feet but he ignored them for the moment. His emerald pools went to Fuse and Ichimaru, who were discussing something at the cash register. Ichimaru was the first to look up and he went immediately to the box.

"What's this? A present for me?" Ichimaru grinned.

"No, dumbass. It's a delivery from Ulquiorra and Grimmjow. It's addressed to you." Hitsugaya pushed the thing into the man's stomach, forcing him to take it. He walked away as the shop keeper flung the box up and down curiously and turned his attention to Fuse, who was pointing to something on the newspaper. He couldn't read the words from where he was at but there was a large picture next to it. He recognized Byakuya, his old co-worker. "Why is Byakuya on the front page?"

"Well, he just published a book called 'Bleach' and it was an instant best seller. He earned over a billion for his first one and he's planning on making more. I believe the next title is 'The Return'. At the moment, he's extremely popular and most sought after man. A lot of girls and guys want to marry him since his wife died about five years ago." This made Hitsugaya raised an eye at that, Byakuya had been married?! "I got a message earlier in the day from a friend when I asked her about this. Apparently, it got bad enough that one of Rin's personal bodyguards went to help keep order. She even pulled a few strings and made her live next door to his apartment and help him out with his work. She's also acting as his editor too." Fuse pushed the paper aside, uninterested anymore. It was obvious that she knew about everything even before reading the paper. Whoever her friend is, she was well informed. "Her name's Raven, she's really scary when you first cross paths with her. She's actually Rin's right hand man…or woman."

"So Byakuya is living as he wishes now, huh…" Hitsugaya leaned back and glanced over to Ichimaru, who had opened the package. "What is it?"

"Not sure myself, I'll have to look into it later." Ichimaru handed it over to Fuse, who gazed at it blankly. She stood up, walking away, taking the item with her. Her long red hair fluttered behind her back as she disappeared into the deeper part of the building, the storage area. Ichimaru wrapped an arm around the smaller albino's waist and hugged him tenderly. The ice prince gripped the arms, holding himself up straight so he wouldn't fall over.

"S-Stop that!" He scolded, trying to get himself away.

"Aw, don't be so mean, you're so cute when you get all flustered." Ichimaru nuzzled his face into the hair, rubbing against the face. Hitsugaya felt his blood rushing up to his cheeks and yanked harder.

"Let go!" The ice prince felt a tongue run down his neck and shivered at the touch. The blush on his face was growing darker, he was now trapped in Ichimaru's strong grasp with no escape. He felt the lips kiss his skin and travel up to his ear. Breaths were whispered into his right ear as soft words and he felt the tongue travel further. "Ah!" The teeth nibbled onto his earlobe and tensed up, his head leaning to the side.

"Are you trying to put on a show for us?" A voice called out along with a snicker. Both albinos turned to the door where Ichigo and Shirosaki were standing in amusement. Ichigo smiled lightly, stepping forward while the other remained behind with that wide shit-eating grin. "Yo!"

Hitsugaya took that chance to use some magic to freeze Ichimaru's hands. The owner jumped back, rubbing his cold arms quickly to get rid of the burning sensation. He glanced upsettingly at the chibi and turned his attention to the two lovers. Fuse came back at that moment, sitting back down at the counter, reading a book, a different one this time.

"Well, if you are here, it's about work, right?" Ichimaru groaned, his arms still stinging from the ice. Ichigo sent a look of pity, watching Hitsugaya huff at the expression of his lover and folded his arms.

"Yeah."

The owner grinned, snatching the ice prince's arms and started dragging him off, his grin back. "Let's go, Snowy-chan!"

"It's Hitsugaya, get it right damnit!"

* * *

Finally over! It's been 2 years since I started this and just now I've finished it. Yes, one less thing I have to worry about. Hope you've enjoyed everything!


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